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The Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) has published its African Women’s Human Rights Report 2026, assessing implementation of the Maputo Protocol across all 55 African Union member states. While 46 countries have ratified the Protocol, nine remain non-parties, the report highlights a persistent gap between ratification and effective implementation of commitments, particularly in legislation, budgeting, monitoring and accountability mechanisms. Weak compliance with accountability obligations also remains a major barrier to tracking progress.

According to the latest estimates from the WHO and UNICEF, 13.5 million children worldwide did not receive any vaccines during their first year of life in 2025, nearly 750,000 fewer than in 2024. However, this improvement remains fragile: 7.3 million children received a first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP) vaccine but did not continue their vaccination series through the first dose of the measles vaccine a number that is on the rise. Most of these children live in countries where immunization programs are supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, while cuts in international health aid threaten the progress that has been made.

According to UNESCO, 113 countries, home to 6.1 billion people, currently devote more resources to servicing their debt than to education. In response to this situation, the organization has published a guide on debt-for-education swaps, a mechanism that allows a portion of debt repayments to be redirected toward educational investments, at a time when the annual funding gap in the sector stands at $97 billion in low and lower-middle-income countries.

At the conclusion of the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), Member States adopted a declaration reaffirming their commitment to close the annual Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) financing gap, estimated at more than US$4 trillion. Building on the Sevilla Commitment, proposed reforms include mobilizing public and private investment, expanding debt relief mechanisms and tackling corruption. The declaration comes amid a sharp contraction in international assistance: official development assistance fell by 23.1% between 2024 and 2025, driven in particular by cuts in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. Member States therefore called on developed countries to meet the international target of allocating 0.7% of gross national income to ODA.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 (SOFI), published by five UN agencies, finds that global hunger declined for the third consecutive year, affecting 645 million people in 2025, 43 million fewer than in 2022. Despite this progress, an estimated 2.1 billion people (25.8% of the world's population) experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2025. Progress remains highly uneven: Africa is now home to 309 million hungry people, while 56.6% of its population faces moderate or severe food insecurity. The report also warns that conflicts, climate shocks, and reductions in official development assistance and humanitarian funding threaten progress towards achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by 2030.

An Associated Press article reveals how the expansion of the U.S. Global Gag Rule is reinforcing the influence of U.S.-based anti-rights organizations across Africa. Funding from 17 U.S. anti-abortion organizations to Africa increased by 50% between 2019 and 2022, exceeding US$16 million, with a further US$9.4 million spent in 2023–2024. The article warns that these networks are working to weaken implementation of the Maputo Protocol while at least US$30 billion in U.S. foreign assistance could be affected by the new restrictions, further threatening access to sexual and reproductive healthcare in a region that accounts for 70% of global maternal deaths.

To mark the fifth anniversary of the Generation Equality Forum, UN Women has published a compendium highlighting the main lessons learned from the initiative between 2021 and 2026. Based on more than 2,500 commitments, US$50.3 billion in pledged financing and US$21 billion in reported expenditures, the report highlights progress in policy reform, financing and accountability, while underscoring persistent challenges, including underfunding, power imbalances, bureaucratic constraints and uneven reporting capacities. It calls for more predictable financing, shared leadership and stronger accountability mechanisms to accelerate progress towards gender equality.

Since May 17, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially been facing an Ebola outbreak that has caused more than 1,300 cases and 401 deaths, mainly in the conflict-ridden Ituri province. In support of national authorities, the international community is mobilizing to respond to the outbreak. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have joined forces to provide incentives for the development of a vaccine. The WHO is coordinating the start of clinical trials for two treatments, while the Pandemic Fund and the World Bank are mobilizing $220 million and $243 million, respectively, to fill gaps in the response. The first case reported in Europe involved a humanitarian doctor from the NGO ALIMA who tested positive for the Ebola virus. The French NGO is continuing its fight against the epidemic and says it is working closely with health authorities.

A plan to reconcile prosperity, equality, and planetary boundaries. Presented at the World Inequality Conference in Paris, the Global Justice Report argues that it is possible to ensure a high level of well-being while respecting planetary limits by 2100. According to the report, this goal rests on three inseparable conditions: the rapid decarbonization of energy systems, a shift in production and consumption patterns toward greater sufficiency, and a substantial reduction in inequality. The authors propose a roadmap that simultaneously combines global wealth redistribution, reform of the international financial architecture, transformation of energy systems, and changes in consumption habits. Read the report.

Women play a central role in climate change adaptation, community resilience, and environmental protection, but remain underrepresented in climate decision-making bodies. The GWL Voices report, Women in Global Climate and Environmental Leadership, provides an overview of their representation within major multilateral climate and environmental institutions. Drawing on more than three decades of data and testimonies from women leaders, the report highlights the progress made and the persistent barriers to more representative climate governance.

Global peace continues to deteriorate, according to the 2026 Global Peace Index, published by the Institute for Economics & Peace. Military spending is rising for the tenth consecutive year, and 119 countries are less peaceful than they were in 2008. While the number of conflict-related deaths has declined from the peak recorded in 2023, it remains at its second-highest level in nearly twenty years. Conflicts are also becoming more global: 103 countries have been involved in at least one conflict outside their borders over the past five years, compared to 59 in 2008.

As the financial commitments made during the Generation Equality Forum in 2021 reach their deadline, UN Women analyzes the 50.3 billion dollars in commitments and 21 billion dollars in spending mobilized in support of gender equality over the past five years. However, the report highlights significant inequalities in the allocation of funding: feminist, local, and youth-led organizations remain underfunded, with an estimated shortfall of 577 million dollars for youth organizations. The report calls for more flexible, predictable funding that is directly accessible to grassroots actors in order to sustainably strengthen the rights of women and girls.