The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a historic agreement between African Union member states that has the potential to transform the African continent. The AfCFTA is aimed at promoting trade and economic integration on the continent.  But what does this historic agreement mean for Africans? Keep reading to find out. What you need to know  The AfCFTA is going to be a game changer for businesses and individuals in Africa. It has the potential to boost economic growth, create decent...
Top news Turning point: This week’s G7 summit needs to be a “turning point” in the race to vaccinate the world against COVID-19. Joe Biden played the first card as he boarded Air Force 1 on Wednesday, promising to announce a major plan to vaccinate the world (more on that later). At ONE we’re joining 200 world leaders in calling for the G7 to do whatever it takes to beat the virus everywhere, starting with immediately sharing at least 1...
Top news Indian variations: India’s heartbreaking crisis is spilling over to Africa. The ban on export of vaccines from India’s Serum Institute slowed the continent’s vaccine roll out considerably last week. But Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa have strong economic and social ties with India. Last week, two cases of the Indian variant (B.1.617) were found in Uganda. On an average day, eight flights leave Entebbe airport for Nairobi, six for Kigali, and four for Addis Ababa. On Wednesday, Trust...
The World Bank predicts the greatest drop in remittances in recent history, with low-income developing countries set to receive US$110 billion less, due to COVID-19 in 2020. Remittances, which are the cash flows sent home by migrant workers to help their families, are a huge source of finance for low- and-middle-income countries. Last year, these countries received 78% of the US$714 billion that were sent around the world. Global remittance flows were five times higher than official development assistance in...
Vera Songwe is executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa. We interviewed her as part of our #PassTheMic campaign. Here’s some of what she had to say. One of the biggest economic challenges we are currently seeing is that 50 million people are losing their jobs. So a coordinated global response to coronavirus would ensure that we get back to recovery faster. My personal priority right now is Africa and getting its growth back. It’s getting the private sector...
The highlight of my weekend was watching a 200-strong crowd shout in unison: Poverty is Sexist. We were gathered on International Women’s Day to launch ONE’s new campaign in the presence of government and UN officials, action/2015 partners, celebrities, the media and over 200 ONE supporters at Indaba Conference Centre in Johannesburg.