Vital Voices for Africa (VVA) is a catalyst for transformative change in Africa. Headquartered in Lome, Togo, the non-profit organization has a resolute mission: to foster resilience and promote sustainable development in Africa. Our objective is to strengthen and amplify the voices of African communities in sustainable development, and to drive transformative change by undertaking initiatives to promote and support a resilient future for the continent.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been making remarkable strides towards achieving legal gender equality. Between October 2021 and October 2022, seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa implemented positive changes that have had a profound impact on women’s participation in their economies.
Notably, Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon emerged as trailblazers, enacting multiple reforms that enhance women’s access to employment and finance. These reforms include the elimination of all restrictions on women’s employment, the introduction of legislation protecting women from gender-based discrimination
The last 10 years have been rough for many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Following a decade-and-a-half of turbocharged growth between 1999 and 2014, when growth on the continent averaged 5% a year and poverty decreased from 57% to 38%, growth faltered, and per capita GDP levels were lower in 2022 than in 2014, raising fears of another lost decade.
Parallel to this growth slowdown, poverty reduction weakened. Though comprehensive figures are not yet in, the number of people living below the poverty line is projected to have increased on the continent
At this year’s African Union Summit held on 17-18 February in Addis Ababa, African leaders adopted the Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change – a powerful show of unity in the face of a real threat to Africa.
Alternating droughts and floods have withered or flushed away crops and decimated livestock. Hunger is sweeping across the continent. In East Africa alone, Oxfam calculated last year that 13 million animals, worth $7.4bn, and hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops were lost, leaving millions of people without income or food.