This brief presents a factual and retrospective analysis of the relationships between urbanisation and demography in North Africa and West Africa. It shows that the process of demographic transition is now fully underway in this region. North of the Sahara the new demographic equilibrium...

The number of people living in African cities is expected to double over the next two decades. While the need to provide adequate infrastructure, create high quality jobs and manage pollution in fast growing cities has been well studied, these studies say little about subjective quality of city...

This study examines the geographical and temporal evolution of violence in which pastoralists are engaged. Building upon an analysis of over 36,000 violent events in North and West Africa between January 1997 and April 2020 in which 206 pastoralist groups were involved, this paper provides a...

Women around the world are facing unprecedented levels of targeted political violence. This is also true in West Africa. Women can be targeted in a myriad of ways, by an array of types of perpetrators, during and outside of periods of conflict and contentious crises. The result though is...

The Sahel and West Africa continue to face significant challenges in advancing towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. While much progress has been made in health and educational outcomes for women and girls in the region, much more has yet to be done. Official development assistance...

This paper uses network analysis to map and characterise live animal trade in West Africa. Building on a database of 42 251 animal movements collected by the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) from 2013-17, it describes the structure of regional livestock...

The Sahel and West Africa region is facing a serious food and nutrition security crisis with high rates of acute malnutrition, combined with high rates of malnourishment and over-nourishment – the "triple burden of malnutrition". Poor-quality diets are the root of all forms of malnutrition, as...

COP27 will return to Africa for the first time since 2016 to follow up on promises made in Glasgow in 2021 to limit global temperatures to well below 2°C by the end of the century as committed under the Paris Agreement. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) enable each country to pursue a...

African armed conflicts involve a myriad of state forces, rebel groups and extremist organisations bound by rapidly changing alliances and rivalries. Organisations that were allies one day can fight each other the next and co-operate later still. The objective of this note is to update the...

Several states in West Africa have experienced significant episodes of political violence since the early 2010s. These have included civil wars, religiously motivated terrorism, separatist insurgencies, military coups and communal strife, each of which have local, national and transnational...