Living conditions for refugees in Ethiopia’s Gambella region are rapidly deteriorating following significant cuts to humanitarian aid in the region. The sharp decline is largely due to global reductions in support from key donors, such as USAID, which strains basic services including food distribution, healthcare, access to clean water, and sanitation services.

Located in southwestern Ethiopia near the South Sudanese border, Gambella has hosted a large number of mostly South Sudanese refugees since 2014. Today, more than 395,000 refugees are living in seven camps, including Kule Refugee Camp, where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has provided healthcare services for over a decade.

The general decline of humanitarian funding in the region has led to the suspension of nutrition services in four out of the seven refugee camps, leaving around 80,000 children under the age of five at risk of life-threatening malnutrition.

“We receive food once a month—maize, wheat, and sorghum—but it always runs out before the month ends,” says Nyauahial Puoch, a mother who traveled about 8 kilometers from Tierkidi Refugee Camp to seek treatment for her 17-month-old daughter at MSF’s facility in Kule Camp. “Since last year, there has been a big decline. Some of the items we used to get are no longer provided at all.” Puoch’s daughter was diagnosed with malnutrition.

Wegagen Bank has secured an international trade finance guarantee facility worth $85 million through agreements with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

This agreement strengthens Wegagen Bank’s strategic partnerships with global financial institutions and enhances its capacity to provide Letter of Credit (L/C) confirmations. It also expands the Bank’s ability to offer guarantees for various documentary services related to imports and exports. As a result, Wegagen Bank is better positioned to deliver accessible, reliable, and efficient trade finance solutions to a broader range of clients.

Additionally, the trade finance guarantee agreement reflects Wegagen Bank’s longstanding and collaborative relationships with reputable international banks. This partnership also enables Wegagen Bank to expand its network with more global financial institutions, solidifying its presence in the international trade finance landscape.

A groundbreaking initiative aims to address one of Africa’s most persistent challenges: transforming the quality of public governance to match the continent’s remarkable economic potential. The Africa CEO Forum, together with four leading strategic partners – Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) –announced the launch of LEAD, a pan-African program designed to groom a new generation of public policy leaders who can drive sustainable economic transformation across the continent.

The initiative is a response to a striking paradox facing Africa’s development trajectory over the past two decades. Despite experiencing nearly uninterrupted economic growth, the continent’s 1.4 billion citizens continue to face significant gaps in public service delivery that constrain both economic development and quality of life. While Africa’s GDP has expanded consistently, the translation of that growth into improved governance and citizen welfare has lagged behind other regions with comparable economic profiles.

The Gates Foundation announced a $2.5 billion commitment through 2030 to accelerate research and development (R&D) focused exclusively on women’s health. It will support the advancement of more than 40 innovations in five critical, chronically underfunded areas—particularly those affecting women in low- and middle-income countries.

“For too long, women have suffered from health conditions that are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or ignored,” said Dr. Anita Zaidi, president of the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality Division. “We want this investment to spark a new era of women-centered innovation—one where women’s lives, bodies, and voices are prioritized in health R&D.”

Women’s health R&D remains chronically underfunded. Areas such as gynecological and menstrual health, obstetric care, contraceptive innovation, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) solutions (including HIV PrEP for women), and maternal health and nutrition receive limited investment. According to a 2021 analysis, led by McKinsey & Company, just 1% of healthcare research and innovation is invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology. Critical issues like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, and menopause, which together affect hundreds of million women, remain deeply under-researched.