African Union - The African Mirror

Sep

02

2025

How to harness the ocean for prosperity: funding African innovations can unlock the blue economy

SUSTAINABILITY

AFRICA has an enormous ocean area at its disposal. There are almost 20 million square kilometres of ocean, seas and inland water that could be developed into environmentally sustainable blue economies. The G20 group of 19 of the world’s largest economies and the African Union also view the blue economy as key to developing the continent. Nomtha Hadi researches blue economies. She talks to The Conversation Africa about the main challenges in developing blue economies in Africa. What is the blue economy? The blue economy refers to using water and ocean resources to create economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs…

Aug

27

2025

By OLIVIA KUNGUMA and JOHANNES BELLE

Climate disasters are escalating: 6 ways South Africa’s G20 presidency can lead urgent action

SUSTAINABILITY

SOUTH Africa currently holds the presidency of the G20 – the group of 19 of the world’s largest economies and the African Union. It has set up a Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group to find concrete solutions for countries experiencing climate-induced disasters that are made worse by poverty and inequality. Disaster risk management specialists Olivia Kunguma and Johannes Belle discuss what’s needed from the G20 this year to make a difference. What are the biggest obstacles to reducing the risks that disasters pose? There have been multiple disasters in South Africa over the past year. All of these confirm the…

Jul

29

2025

By The African Mirror

Three leaders launch historic peace initiative for Libya’s return to African Union

NEWS

THREE prominent African leaders have launched an ambitious peace initiative aimed at restoring stability to Libya while positioning the North African nation to reclaim its pivotal role within the African Union community. The initiative, spearheaded by Dr. Martin Kabwelulu, former minister from the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Dr. Ahmed Tolba, former minister from Mauritania; and Engineer Taha Muftah Buishi, a Libya-based expert in African affairs and international relations, responds directly to an appeal by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in his capacity as chair of the African Union Peace and Security Council. Dr. Martin Kabwelulu The three leaders are calling…

Jul

11

2025

By PROFESSOR ELIANGIRINGA KAALE

The six critical actions Africa must take to stop the deadly trade in fake, substandard medicines

AUDA-NEPAD

THE time for half-measures and empty promises has passed. African governments must take immediate, decisive action to combat the proliferation of substandard and falsified medical products that are killing our children and bleeding our economies dry. Every year, 122,000 children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa die needlessly from substandard or falsified anti-malaria medication. Let that number sink in. These are not statistics - they are our children, our future, lost to a preventable crisis that demands urgent action. The World Health Organisation has directly linked 300 deaths in The Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan to contaminated batches of…

Jun

23

2025

By The African Mirror

A continent’s call for peace amidst escalating US-Iran conflict

NEWS

AS the United States launched a devastating bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities - Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan - escalating the Israel-Iran war into a dangerous new phase, African nations responded with a powerful and unified call for restraint, dialogue, and respect for international law. South Africa, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, voiced deep anxiety over the US military intervention, condemning the violence and urging all parties - especially the United States, Israel, and Iran - to allow the United Nations to lead peaceful negotiations. Ramaphosa emphasised that only through dialogue and UN-led inspections of Iran’s nuclear program could the…

Jun

12

2025

By SCOTT FIRSING

5 benefits Africa’s new space agency can deliver

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE African Space Agency was officially inaugurated in Cairo’s Space City in April 2025. The event marked a milestone in a process that had been in the works since the early 2000s. Drawing inspiration from the European Space Agency, it unites African Union (AU) member states to harness space technology for development. This is in line with the AU’s Agenda 2063, aimed at advancing Africa into a prosperous future. The agency’s goal is to: Coordinate and implement Africa’s space ambitions by promoting collaboration among the AU’s 55 member states Harness space technologies for sustainable development, climate resilience and socio-economic growth…

Jun

10

2025

By DAVID PHAHO and STEVEN MATOME MATHETSA

Africa’s power pools: what the G20 can do to help countries share electricity

SUSTAINABILITY

SOUTH Africa holds the presidency of the G20 this year. The group is made up of 19 of the world’s largest economies, the European Union and the African Union. A priority of South Africa’s G20 presidency is African connectivity: promoting cross-border energy trade and regional power pools as a way to share electricity across borders on the continent. David Phaho and Steven Mathetsa of the African Energy Leadership Centre set out how South Africa could use its presidency of the G20 to drive regional renewable energy sharing. What is a regional power pool? A regional energy power pool is where…

Jun

05

2025

By DANIEL CASH

Africa’s new credit rating agency could change the rules of the game. Here’s how

BUSINESS

FOR governments, a credit rating is more than a financial signal. It is a verdict that can influence the cost of borrowing, access to markets and, ultimately, the ability to provide for their citizens. Rating decisions are made behind closed doors in a private process that isn’t open to assessment or scrutiny. For African countries, this opacity can be especially damaging. When rating decisions lack transparency, it’s impossible to challenge potential biases or inconsistencies in methodology that put developing economies at a disadvantage. The result is higher borrowing costs that drain resources from healthcare, education and infrastructure investment. Africa’s new…

Mar

21

2025

By ASSEFA LEAKE GEBRU

Ethiopia’s war may have ended, but the Tigray crisis hasn’t

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FOR over 20 years, Ethiopia was led by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, a coalition of four ethnic-based political parties representing Tigray, Amhara, Oromo, and Southern nations, nationalities and peoples. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front was the most influential party within the coalition. However, in 2018, when the Prosperity Party came into power, the front lost its important role in government. On 4 November 2020, the federal government launched an attack on Tigray, terming it a military offensive against political aggression from the Tigrayan front. This sparked a war that lasted two years and caused severe damage to people…

Feb

28

2025

By ULF ENGEL

African Union’s new chair has a long list of tough tasks – what it will take to get them done

HEADLINES, THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

FOLLOWING seven rounds of balloting, 60-year-old diplomat Mahmoud Ali Youssouf was elected the sixth chair of the African Union Commission in February 2025. Politics professor Ulf Engel, who is the editor of the Yearbook on the African Union, explains the role and its challenges. What’s the new AU Commission chair’s background? Youssouf is a seasoned diplomat from Djibouti. He is the longest serving minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation of his country (2005-2025), and has also served as chair of the Council of Ministers of the Arab League (2007, 2017) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (2012). What’s the…