A camp for displaced persons in Burkina Faso, May 2024.
Fanny Naoro-Kabré/AFP via Getty Images
Burkina Faso tops the list of the world’s most neglected crises in the world for the second time in a row.
People parading a Russian flag around the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo
Niger’s military government sides with Russia in the latest sign of Moscow’s growing influence in Africa.
A Nigerien official explains to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the jihadist crisis facing Niger and the surrounding region in March 2023.
Boureima Hama/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
The disintegration of the United States’ relationship with Niger following its military coup in 2023 is giving way to stronger ties between the African country and Russia and China.
Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
Never before have four governments, including one of the regional leaders, Senegal, been simultaneously eager and ready to get out of the neo-colonial stranglehold of the CFA franc.
A US military drone at the Barkhane French military base, Niamey on 22 December 2019.
Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Niger is cutting military ties with the US. This has implications for security in the Sahel region.
Protesters barricade a street in reaction to postponement of the presidential election in Dakar, Senegal on 9 February.
Cem Ozdel/Anadolu via Getty Images
Attempts to postpone Senegal’s election indefinitely reflect deeper governance problems within Macky Sall’s administration, and the shortcomings of his chosen heir, Amadou Ba.
An anti-colonial demonstration against the CFA franc in Dakar, September 2017.
Seyllou/AFP via Getty Images
Several conditions must be met to ensure the successful launch and operation of a multilateral currency.
The use of mother tongues as languages of instruction has become popular in many parts of Africa.
Issouf Sanogo/Getty Images
Bilingual education can improve learning outcomes but it’s important to consider local context.
A protester holds a placard reading ‘down with Ecowas’ during a rally in Bamako on 1 February 2024.
Ousmane Makaveli /AFP via Getty Images
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have much to lose if they cannot migrate to and from neighbouring countries in Ecowas.
Leaders of Ecowas at a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria on 10 December 2023.
Nigerian Presidency /Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their intention to leave Ecowas. This may be a pointer to a deeper crisis in the Sahel region.
Ecowas has struggled to handle a raft of military coups.
U.S. Army Southern Europe Photostream/Flickr
The decision by the three countries could change the dynamics of Ecowas.
Protesters in Niger’s capital Niamey hold a Russian flag and banner with images of coup leaders in Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea.
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Niger’s recent military romance with Russia could escalate tensions with France, regional allies and the European Union.
Children’s education is frequently disrupted in conflict-fraught areas.
Daniel Beloumou Olomo/AFP via Getty Images
Education can spur peace and development. Here are five essential reads on the topic.
Created in 2014, the G5 Sahel security alliance is about to be dissolved after members pulled out.
Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
Foreign powers’ interest in the Sahel is driven by its natural resources and strategic location for security and illegal migration control.
Rock carving of an elephant at the Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Tadrart Rouge, in Algeria.
Eric Lafforgue/Getty Images
The Sahara Desert is green and vegetated every 21,000 years. A climate model shows why.
A group of soldiers from the Niger gendarmerie at the gendarmerie school on 11 January 2023 in Niamey, Niger.
David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images
Ecowas’ threats to intervene militarily in Niger played a role in the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States, whose members have pledged to assist each other in the event of aggression.
Supporters of Niger’s coup leaders wave Niger’s flag (R) and a flag bearing Wagner’s logo during a protest on 16 September 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
France’s withdrawal from Niger could hurt the regional fight against terrorism, create an opportunity for Wagner’s influence and increase Europe’s migrant crisis.
Almost half of all sixth-grade students in Niger struggle to read a simple sentence.
Olympia De Maismont/AFP
Overall, differences in teachers’ subject knowledge could explain a third of the differences in student learning between the 14 countries.
An African antelope at the Mekrou river in the W National Park, Niger.
DeAgostini/Getty Images
Trans-border collaboration is required to recover protected areas that transverse Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic from armed groups.
Supporters of Niger’s pro-coup National Council for Safeguard of the Homeland celebrate.
AFP via Getty Images
No US president has set foot on sub-Saharan Africa since 2015 – and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.