Civil society organisations around the world are calling for competitive elections to the United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations (Committee on NGOs), emphasizing the importance of inclusive and transparent processes. For NGOs to engage meaningfully with the UN, they must first obtain ECOSOC consultative status, a process managed by the Committee, which acts as a… [Read More]

Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $1.2 million investment for historical societies across New York State, aimed at preserving culturally significant sites and expanding community engagement. Of this amount, $1 million is allocated to the Weeksville Heritage Center in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, to support ongoing preservation efforts, literacy programs, staff, and educational tours, as well as… [Read More]

Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have announced that New York State will provide an additional $1.5 billion over two years to help address the city’s fiscal challenges. This includes $1 billion in operating support for City Fiscal Year 2026 and $510 million in City Fiscal Year 2027, with $510 million… [Read More]

Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $3.8 million New York State African American Heritage Grant Program aimed at supporting and promoting the history and achievements of African Americans and people of African descent across the state. The program will provide funding to nonprofit organizations and local governments to document, interpret, and preserve sites, stories, and cultural… [Read More]

The Future Leaders programme was established to support early-career academic and clinical researchers in neuro-oncology, helping them become leading experts in the field. The award provides up to £1.8 million in funding over 12 years and includes the resources needed to set up an independent laboratory. After completing the initial three-year phase, postdoctoral fellows are… [Read More]

More than 150 young pastoralists from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and South Sudan recently pledged to lead rangelands and pastoralism toward a peaceful and prosperous future. During a November 2025 gathering, the youth adopted the “Kobebe Declaration,” advocating for the full implementation of the IGAD Transhumance Protocol, a regional framework ensuring the free and orderly… [Read More]

Meeting today’s agricultural challenges while preparing for the future requires giving farmers access to a diverse set of tools and solutions. Central to this effort is the Future Seeds genebank, managed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, which functions as a global repository for plant materials that can adapt to changing environments and… [Read More]

Stakeholders in Nigeria came together to call on the Federal Government to make childhood cancer treatment free as the country marked International Childhood Cancer Day in Abuja. The advocacy outreach was organised by the Akanimo Cancer Foundation at the Church of Christ, Kado-FCT, with parallel events held in over 11 other locations nationwide, including Lagos,… [Read More]

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has launched a five-year strategy, CEPI 3.0, aimed at strengthening global preparedness for epidemic and pandemic threats. The organisation has called for an additional $2.5 billion in funding to reinforce worldwide disease defenses, bringing the total required for full implementation to $3.6 billion. With $1.1 billion already secured,… [Read More]

Immunic has successfully completed a private placement led by existing investor BVF Partners, with participation from Avidity Partners, OrbiMed, Trails Edge Capital Partners, TCGX, Vivo Capital, and other institutional investors. The company raised a total of $400 million through the issuance of pre-funded warrants, which will support ongoing operations and strategic initiatives through late 2027…. [Read More]

Aruwa Capital Management has secured a commitment of up to $8 million from the International Finance Corporation for its second private equity fund, Aruwa Capital Fund II, which aims to raise $50 million with a $60 million hard cap. The Lagos-based, women-led firm, founded in 2019 by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, will use the fund to… [Read More]

More than 200 new graduate nurses, midwives, and doctors have begun working across the Central Coast this year, significantly strengthening the region’s health services. Among them, 138 graduate nurses and midwives will gain hands-on experience in emergency departments, acute care, maternity, mental health, and other specialties within the Central Coast Local Health District. These new… [Read More]

The Minns Labor Government is advancing a significant school infrastructure program in Western Sydney, with Parramatta East Public School undergoing a major upgrade. The project will replace all 21 demountable classrooms with 24 permanent classrooms, a learning support unit comprising three classrooms, 12 common rooms, multipurpose spaces, and a new library. These facilities are scheduled… [Read More]

The Minns Labor Government is reinforcing its commitment to protecting workers from dust-related diseases through the $2.5 million Lung Health Mobile Clinic, which offers free lung health screenings across New South Wales. The mobile clinic, or “Lung Bus,” has arrived in Blacktown to provide essential checks that can detect diseases like asbestosis, silicosis, and mesothelioma… [Read More]

The Albanese and Minns Labor Governments have launched a new initiative to make New South Wales safer for older women by improving supports for those who have experienced sexual violence. This initiative, developed with over $500,000 in funding from the Sexual Violence Project Fund, includes a comprehensive package of training and resources created by the… [Read More]

Cameroon’s Economy Minister, Alamine Ousmane Mey, signed financing agreements worth 111.6 billion CFA francs on February 13, 2026, with three foreign banks—Belgium’s ING Bank and Belfius Bank, each contributing 39.36 billion CFA francs, and Deutsche Bank Italy providing 25.27 billion CFA francs. The funds will support the Yaoundé Drinking Water Supply System Reconfiguration Project, which… [Read More]

Norway’s Minister of International Development, Åsmund Grøver Aukrust, visited Indonesia from February 11–13, following a prior trip to Vietnam, to hold high-level discussions in Jakarta on climate, development financing, and multilateral cooperation. Ahead of the visit, Norway’s Ministry of International Development highlighted that Aukrust would engage with Indonesian authorities and civil society on international cooperation,… [Read More]

The JOJE Abebe ART Foundation has urged greater government support for fertility care, highlighting the rising costs of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment, which place it out of reach for many couples. The foundation made this call in a statement issued on Sunday by its President, Dr. John Abebe, Managing Director of the Ngozi Abebe… [Read More]

The Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service, in collaboration with the Vcare for Development Foundation (VCDF) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society, successfully mobilized 550 pints of blood during a two-day campaign aimed at boosting voluntary blood donation in the state. The campaign was supported through the corporate social responsibility initiative of Sterling Oil Exploration and… [Read More]

Egypt has inaugurated its first biogas unit designed to convert slaughterhouse waste into renewable energy and organic fertiliser, marking a step toward strengthening the country’s green economy and reducing environmental impact. The pilot facility, located at the Kafr Shukr slaughterhouse in Qalyubia Governorate, was inspected by Minister of Local Development and Environment, Manal Awad, following… [Read More]

African leaders convened at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa on 14–15 February to place water security and sanitation at the centre of the continent’s development agenda. The 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government launched the AU’s 2026 theme, formally framing access to water as a strategic… [Read More]

Trade in the Asia-Pacific region is undergoing a strategic transformation, driven by rapid technological change and the reconfiguration of supply chains. According to the latest Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Trends (APTIT), firms and governments are moving beyond cost efficiency, prioritizing supply chain resilience, diversification, and digital readiness. These shifts are reshaping export performance, altering trade… [Read More]

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has requested KSh 80 million ($620,182) from the Kenyan government to host a National Productivity and Performance Conference in May 2026. The funding proposal comes as part of efforts to address Kenya’s persistent public sector wage bill, a fiscal pressure that has sparked legal scrutiny and intense policy debate…. [Read More]