The article explores the geopolitics of terrorism in Africa, analyzing the challenges and responses proposed by African states and their international partners. It highlighted the rapid adaptation of terrorist groups such as AQIM, MUJAO and Boko Haram, faced with often ineffective strategies. Initiatives such as the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) are struggling to gain traction due to problems of coordination, financing and foreign influences that prioritize their strategic interests. Better governance, enhanced cooperation and comprehensive approaches are essential to counter the rise of terrorism, as is the fight against its financing and support. The article calls for a melting down of African armies and the establishment of multidimensional strategies, integrating the ideological, educational and economic aspects.

Politics, Political party, State, Natural ressources, Security, Jihad, Terrorism, Gold, Human security, Threat

The UNODC report of January 2023 highlights the trafficking of medical products in the Sahel, including falsified, substandard and unauthorized medicines. Between January 2017 and December 2021, more than 605 tons of these products were seized during international police operations. The investigation reveals the involvement of various actors, including employees of pharmaceutical companies, civil servants, law enforcement officers, members of health agencies and street vendors, all motivated by financial gain. This trafficking seriously compromises public health and security in the region.

Security, Trafic, Santé publique, Médicament

The Groupe URD (2023) article analyses the obstacles hindering access to reproductive health care for Chadian adolescent girls. Health infrastructure, often dilapidated and poorly located, discourages its use by young people. Social norms and suspicions surrounding premarital sexuality dissuade adolescent girls from seeking contraceptive services, for fear of being stigmatized. The rate of contraceptive use remains low, with only 8 to 9% of women of reproductive age using it. Early pregnancies are common, partly due to child marriage. Illegal abortions, often carried out in unsafe conditions, lead to serious complications. Gender-based violence is widespread, with one in three women having suffered physical violence since the age of 15. The HIV prevalence rate is 1.2%, with HIV positivity higher among women, particularly adolescent girls.

Governance, Gender, Education, Health

The article, titled “Nigeria’s Unhappy Union: How Rising Insecurity Threatens the Country’s Future,” examines the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria. It highlights that recent attacks, such as the one on the police headquarters and a prison in Imo State, illustrate the state’s loss of control over violence. The authors identify several factors contributing to this instability, including the rise of secessionist movements, food insecurity, high unemployment, and endemic corruption. They warn of the risks of national disintegration unless urgent measures are taken to strengthen governance and address the socio-economic needs of the population.

Governance, Agriculture, Livestock, Conflict, Jihad, Poverty, Insécurité

The article highlights the need for an integrated approach combining security and development to stabilize the Sahel, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. It highlights the region's growth potential, threatened by growing insecurity and a rapidly expanding population. Experts reject pessimistic outlooks, arguing that investments in peace and development would be cheaper than managing the consequences of a protracted crisis. They call for collaboration between researchers, diplomats, the military, humanitarians and development actors to define effective responses. The article also highlights the changing patterns of violence in West Africa, with the emergence of electoral conflicts, armed insurgencies and banditry, often linked to drug trafficking, arms trafficking and religious extremism.

Governance, Economic Development, Security, Development

The lack of pasture space in the Ferlo is nowadays the major concern of herders and various development actors in the sylvopastoral zone. It appears to be the main (re)known symptom, almost habitual, of the cyclical crises affecting pastoralism in Senegal. On the face of it, this situation can be interpreted as a banal ‘tragedy of the commons’, characterised by a significant increase in pressure on the resource, which is itself poorly managed since it belongs to everyone, and whose regeneration is furthermore hampered by both natural (climatic disruption) and anthropogenic (overgrazing, progression of the agricultural front) factors. However, in this situation as in others, the tragedy of the commons is a flawed, even simplistic, interpretative scheme, focusing mainly on the effects of animal demography and community management of grazing land, which are considered to be deleterious. A more detailed analysis of the various factors involved in this "grazing crisis" and the observation of the adaptive strategies of the farmers and the responses proposed by the differents organisations (ngos etc.) supporting the sector (fodder crops, food supplements in particular) lead to the formulation of other hypotheses: the fodder shortage might be the inevitable but underestimated consequence of a long series of interventions in the field of pastoral water supply. Also this crisis might reflect the exhaustion of the entire pastoral breeding model and the beginnings of a profound (and perhaps radical) transformation whose prospects remain uncertain. Rather than a tragedy with an inescapable end, should it not be seen as a turning point for the Ferlo and for pastoralist farming as it exists in the present conditions?

Pastoralism, Livestock, Crisis

The article highlights the ineffectiveness of purely security-based responses to the crisis in the Sahel. Despite ECOWAS’s adoption of a $1 billion plan to strengthen the armed forces, the security and humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, particularly in the Liptako-Gourma and Lake Chad Basin regions. The root causes of insecurity are attributed to the marginalization of communities, poor governance, and the effects of climate change. The article advocates for a political approach that includes dialogue with local communities, improved governance, access to fair justice, and consideration of climate issues, in order to achieve lasting peace.

Security, Peace, Conflict, Cooperation

The article highlights the urgency of stabilizing the Sahel to preserve Africa's future. It highlights the growing vulnerability of the region, marked by insecurity, state collapse, and youth disenchantment. Recent attacks in Mali and Burkina Faso illustrate this deterioration. The author calls for the mobilization of African intellectuals to advise and support states in difficulty, beyond foreign military interventions alone. He emphasizes the need for active solidarity, particularly with Mali and Burkina Faso, and urges African civil societies to initiate strong actions to refocus the continent on its priorities. The objective is to counter the expansion of violence and insecurity, in order to allow the African utopia to come true.

Governance, Insécurité, Coopération régionale

Amnesty International’s 2021 article, “I have nothing left, except myself,” examines the growing impact of conflict on children in the Tillabéri region of Niger. Violence by armed groups, including the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), has led to the closure of many schools, depriving children of their right to education. Children are also exposed to psychological trauma due to violent attacks, forced displacement, and food insecurity. The report highlights the urgent need for the Nigerien authorities and the international community to protect children’s rights, ensure their access to education, and provide adequate psychosocial support.

Security, Conflict, Poverty