Regional Cooperation in Africa
Armed conflicts, climate change, large numbers of displaced people, democratic decline and trade barriers are major challenges for several countries in Africa. Sida's regional work in Africa supports cooperation between countries, organisations and companies that contribute to joint regional solutions for sustainable development in the region.
Sida's regional support in Africa 2023
Why do Sida work with regional cooperation in Africa?
Peace, security and democratic decline
Since 2020, a series of military coups have taken place in the region, including in Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, Chad, Mali and Sudan. There has also been civil war in Ethiopia and violence and terrorism in South Sudan and Somalia. Democracy is in decline and the number of countries classified as unfree has risen from 14 to 25 between 2008 and 2023.1
Rising public debt
Rising public debt is one of the region’s biggest challenges. The debt burden has risen sharply in already vulnerable countries due to high interest rates. Many people in the region are economically vulnerable. National savings have declined, as has foreign investment.2
Climate crises and lack of electricity
Climate change is hitting the region hard with extreme weather: severe droughts, floods, diseases and natural disasters pushing people into poverty. More than 600 million people lack access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa alone. The share of renewable energy is generally low. This is especially true in sub-Saharan countries. In addition, 900 million people lack access to clean fuel and efficient stoves.3
Examples of what Sida contributes to
Solutions that benefit the whole region
Sida helps to support regional joint solutions to counter terrorism, reduce the effects of climate change and find sustainable solutions for migration. In this way, improvements are made, including through common regulations, which benefit people throughout the region. This work is done, for example, through the African Union (AU).
Building peace and managing conflicts
Sida supports efforts to build sustainable peace in the region and manage conflicts. This includes regional security in West Africa and around Lake Chad and supporting the peace process in Sudan. The aid also helps to ensure that women and young people, in particular, are more involved in peace processes.
Supporting trade and women’s empowerment
Sida supports regional trade in Africa, including through trade agreements, which help to improve the conditions for more open trade for all. The aid also strengthens women’s economic empowerment and creates jobs for young people.
Improving resilience to climate crises
Aid contributes to the more sustainable use of natural resources, increasing people’s resilience to climate crises and natural disasters, and giving more people access to renewable energy.
Regional development cooperation in Africa
The African continent has around 1.4 billion inhabitants.4 People’s living conditions and challenges differ between regions, countries and even within countries. Many of the countries face common and transnational challenges such as armed conflict, climate change, natural resource management, trade barriers, increasing migration and lack of respect for human rights.
Sida contributes to cooperation between countries, organisations and companies working for sustainable development in the region. The support strengthens the work on democracy, peace, climate, economic development for all and sexual and reproductive rights and health (SRHR).
Africa is home to much of the world’s natural resources. Climate change is hitting the region hard with drought, extreme weather, disease, insect pests and loss of biodiversity, threatening to drive millions of people into poverty by 2030. It risks pushing millions of people into poverty by 2030. Climate change and competition for natural resources also contribute to hunger, conflict and increased numbers of displaced people and involuntary migration.5
Access to electricity is insufficient. This is partly due to a lack of investment and limited cooperation between countries.
In the area of climate and environment, Sida supports programmes and projects that improve the region’s resilience to climate change, ensure that natural resources are used more sustainably, increase access to renewable energy and support countries in implementing climate plans to reduce climate impact. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Better implementation of countries’ climate plans
Over 50 African countries have signed the Paris Agreement and its climate commitments. Many organisations in the region also have high climate ambitions, but lack of funding is a problem. The African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC) works to ensure that countries implement national climate plans and reduce their climate impact. They also increase youth involvement in climate issues.
About the African Climate Policy Centre on the UNECA’s website
The Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia) is regularly hit by severe drought, which threatens people’s livelihoods, health and lives, as well as their economic development. The IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) is working steadily to help countries and communities build resilience to natural disasters and climate change.
There is a great need for investment in fossil-free energy in Africa. Sida is providing several grants to contribute to the transition to renewable energy. One example is the UN Green Fund, which offers preferential loans to invest in renewables. The support has so far provided renewable energy to some 600 000 people in 14 countries.
Democratic development is going backwards after decades of progress. Military coups, internet shutdowns and electoral fraud have increased.6 Corruption is widespread and many people have their rights violated. Freedom of expression was restricted in around 30 countries during the pandemic, and many of these restrictions continue in many parts of Africa.7 Gender-based violence is common, including female genital mutilation and sexual abuse.
Sida supports organisations working for democracy, reduced corruption and increased respect for human rights. Sida contributes to increased gender equality and strengthens women and girls’ power over their own lives. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports.
What do people in African countries think about democracy, gender equality and globalisation? How do they experience poverty in their country? Through on-site interviews, the Afrobarometer provides insights into what people in some 40 African countries think and feel about important social issues. The long-term ambition is to give voice to people from all countries on the continent. The reports are used by the media, opinion leaders and decision-makers. Sida has supported the Afrobarometer since 1999.
Civil society organisations play an important role in promoting human rights. Civil society and regional courts complement each other in holding states accountable when human rights are violated. Sida supports the international network CIVICUS, which helps to strengthen civil society organisations. The support has led to increased knowledge of digital and physical security among human rights activists. Civil society activism has largely moved to online platforms, partly due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Africa’s young population is large and growing rapidly, expected to double by 2050. Children are particularly affected by poverty and conflict.10 Sida supports the African Union Committee on the Rights of the Child, which works with various child rights organisations to strengthen the legal protection of children in areas such as armed conflict, early marriage and the right to education.
About the African Union Committee on the Rights of the Child on the AU’s website
Closed borders have affected migration and increased risks for migrants. Climate change is making extreme drought and rainfall more common. This affects the livelihoods of people who are forced to leave their homes.
Sida works to ensure that people who have moved to work or have been forced to flee their home country have the same rights and conditions. Sida supports several programmes and projects to improve the situation for people who have moved from their home country. Here are some examples:
For people who have left their home country to work in another country, it is often difficult to obtain work permits and jobs. It is also common for them to have poorer conditions in the labour market. Sida supports the African Union’s Joint Labour Migration Programme (JLMP), which develops policies for labour migration on the continent. The aim is to improve the systems that regulate labour migration by, among other things, taking into account gender equality and relevant international human rights and labour standards. The African Union also runs a project to better manage migration data, in cooperation with Sweden’s Statistics Sweden (SCB) and several of the regional economic communities (such as IGAD in East Africa and ECOWAS in West Africa).
About the Joint Labour Migration Programme on the African Union website
Sida supports several programmes and projects to improve the situation for people who migrate. Among other things, we support the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), which makes it easier for migrants to send money digitally to their home countries through, for example, a new ID system for financial services.
Increased border controls and restrictions due to the pandemic have affected trade, tourism and overall economic development. Women and young people have been particularly hard hit as they tend to work in the informal economy, often under precarious conditions. Economic disparities are increasing in most countries.
Sida strengthens regional and international trade, including by working to link the whole of Africa in a trade agreement. We support programmes and projects that strengthen the economy. The aid helps to create more jobs to reduce dependence on imports of essential goods such as medicine and food. It also increases opportunities for young people to find employment with decent conditions. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Unemployment and underemployment are major challenges and the working age population is growing. Sweeping reforms are needed to create a sustainable labour market and opportunities for people to earn a living. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is increasing access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises to increase youth employment.
Expensive tariffs and complicated regulations make it difficult for African countries to trade with each other and with the rest of the world. Through the World Customs Organization (WCO), Sida is helping to modernise customs administration and implement the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement, which aims to simplify trade for countries in the region. In cooperation with Lund University, the Trade Policy Training Centre in Africa (trapca) trains students from Africa in trade policy. The Trade Law Centre (tralac) has a programme that strengthens and facilitates trade for young female decision-makers and women working in small-scale border trade.
Sida supports the African Development Bank (AfDB) in financing small and medium-sized enterprises led by women. One example is the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative.
Armed conflicts are taking place in different parts of Africa, many of which have been going on for decades. Since 2020, a series of military coups have rocked the region, including in Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea, Chad, Mali and Sudan. In addition, civil war in Ethiopia and violence and terrorism in South Sudan and Somalia, among others. Peace processes in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia) are fragile and in northern Mozambique and the Sahel region (which includes parts of Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Sudan) violent extremism is on the rise.
Sida supports efforts to build peace, manage conflict and involve people, especially women and youth, in peace processes. Here are some examples of organisations we support:
Many countries lack the resources to mediate, manage conflict and build peace. Sida supports the African Union (AU) and regional institutions such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in West Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Southern Africa and the East African Community (EAC) in East Africa to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts.
Women and young people are often left out of peace processes. Sida cooperates with ACCORD, which guarantees the participation of women and young people in peace efforts in Mozambique. ACCORD also trains young peacebuilders in southern Africa in peace and conflict management and supports the peace process in Sudan.
The security situation in the Sahel has deteriorated significantly in recent years. Sida supports the UN, civil society organisations and national authorities in addressing the root causes of the conflicts and countering violent extremism.
The sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) situation is slowly improving in the region. The maternal mortality rate is decreasing, fewer young people are contracting HIV, access to sex education is increasing and the rate of unwanted pregnancies is falling.
At the same time, resistance is increasing. It is better organised and more well-funded than before and focuses on removing the right to sex education, banning abortion and reducing the rights of LGBTI people. The pandemic worsened access to SRHR for young people and pregnant women, and sexual and gender-based violence and child marriage increased. At the same time, the pandemic contributed to increased solidarity and cooperation between countries on health issues.
The situation of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex) people has worsened in many parts of the region, with cautious progress in parts of Southern Africa. Mozambique, Botswana and Angola have abolished laws that previously criminalised same-sex relationships.
Sida supports efforts to improve access to SRHR, including sex education, contraception and increased rights for LGBTI people. We also work regionally to eradicate genital mutilation. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports in the field of SRHR:
People in the region often have poor access to services such as contraception, maternity care and safe abortion. Sida supports, for example, the UN programme 2gether 4 SRHR, which works with legislation and policies to improve access to and increase SRHR services. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) works with sex education in 31 countries. Their work contributes to greater gender equality and fewer teenage pregnancies. SRHR Africa Trust (SAT) increases access to contraception for young people. Collaboration with the organisation DKT International, which works on family planning? increases access to contraceptives and abortion products, which is estimated to have prevented 2.5 million unwanted pregnancies in 19 countries so far.
Over 200 million girls and women in Africa, the Middle East and Asia have been subjected to FGM.9 The vast majority live in Africa. Sida supports the world’s largest programme against FGM through the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The programme operates in 16 African countries and reaches millions of girls through prevention, protection and access to care. There is a particular focus on addressing social norms around gender equality.
- Statistics freedom in Africa i Afrika(2023) on Freedomhouse web site
- Foreign investments in Africa and national savings on Nordic Africa Institute web site
- Statistics lack of electricity in Africa (2023) on IEA:s web site
- Statistics people living in Africa 2023 on Statistas web site
- Climate Change leads to poverty and forces people to leave their country on IPCC web site
- Democracy in the world and in Africa (2022) on Idea web site
- Freedom of Press in Africa on World Freedom Press Index (2023)
- Statistics young people in Africa on WeForum web site
- Female genital mutilation world wide (2023) on WHO web site
Updated: August 31, 2023