Journal of African Development

This article explores the complex and evolving landscape of masculinities and gender norms in African societies, emphasizing their historical, cultural, and socio-economic foundations. African masculinities are dynamic and plural, influenced by traditional roles, colonial legacies, and contemporary transformations such as urbanization, education, and global gender discourses. While traditional ideals often reinforce patriarchy and male authority through roles of provider, protector, and communal leader, shifting economic realities and social movements are fostering more progressive and relational masculinities that value caregiving, emotional openness, and gender equity. The article highlights the impacts of rigid masculine norms, including their links to gender-based violence and men’s mental health challenges, and underscores ongoing efforts through community programs, legal reforms, and gender-transformative initiatives to promote healthier, equitable models of masculinity. Recognizing the intersectionality of masculinities with class, ethnicity, sexuality, and disability, the article argues that supporting the fluid negotiation of masculinities is essential for advancing gender equality, improving health, and enriching social cohesion across Africa.

This article explores the dynamics of remittance flows in West Africa and investigates their impact on household welfare. Drawing on recent data and scholarly research, the analysis emphasizes trends, drivers, challenges, and the transformative role of remittances in poverty reduction. The assessment further discusses policy implications and areas for future research.

Dynamic financial systems face a highly challenging dilemma, as the complexity of financial fraud stems from the rapidly evolving nature of adversarial strategies and the swift operations in finance facilitated by the digital medium. Traditional fraud detection systems, including those with AI capabilities on top of blockchain, are mostly reactive, where the anomaly is detected post-execution of transactions, frequently resulting in slow actions, high false positives, and irrevocable loss. The constraints are even augmented in the high-volume ecologies of the globe, whereby the trends in transactions keep on changing, and therefore fixed thresholds and rule-based solutions do not work. To address these issues, the paper proposes a novel cognitive blockchain model capable of predicting fraud before transaction settlement through adaptive neuro-symbolic reasoning, behavioural fingerprinting, and a distributed, memory-based ledger. The architecture is built using four layers, a perception layer that provides real-time transaction sensing and behavioral profiling, a cognitive layer using temporal knowledge graphs and Markov decision process-based anticipatory inferences, a blockchain layer that is embedded with Cognitive-Oriented Smart Contracts (COSC) that dynamically tune validation criteria and an adaptive governance layer that continuously optimizes its fraud detection rules based on multi-modal data fusion. The framework functions on a mixed-up middle opinion technique, which guarantees its scope as well as safety without demanding a trade-off in transaction throughput. To analyse its performance, a synthetic and semi-synthetic dataset, in the form of transaction data of a realistic fraud profile, was created to create a simulated high-volume financial environment. According to the experimental results, the accuracy of anticipating fraud was found to be 87 per cent, the degrees of false positives shrank by 35 per cent, and adding latency to blockchain was less than 5 per cent, as opposed to traditional blockchain approaches of fraud detection. The significance of these results is the evidence that such a proposed framework could be used to stop all fraudulent activities when the overhead of the operation is minimal. At the same time, the integrity of transactions could be assured in volatile and adversarial conditions. The proposed paradigm of cognitive blockchain introduced in this paper sets a new marker of predictive security financial with scalability, robustness and regulatory compliance, or in other words, a solution to fraud mitigation in next-generation financial systems

This article examines the state of gender mainstreaming in African political institutions, highlighting its significance for inclusive governance and sustainable development. It traces the evolution of gender equality efforts in Africa within global and regional frameworks such as the Beijing Declaration and the African Union’s Maputo Protocol. While women’s representation in African parliaments has seen incremental progress—with countries like Rwanda and South Africa leading globally—significant socio-cultural, structural, and political challenges persist across the continent. The paper analyzes key barriers including patriarchal norms, weak enforcement of gender quotas, and economic exclusion, and presents case studies from Rwanda, South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana. It further outlines policy initiatives and mechanisms promoting women's political participation, and discusses the positive impact of gender mainstreaming on democracy and governance. The article concludes with targeted recommendations to accelerate progress toward gender-equitable political institutions in Africa.

This article analyzes the transformative impact of social media on African elections, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of digital democracy across the continent. With rapidly rising internet penetration and mobile adoption, platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and X (Twitter) have become key arenas for political engagement, particularly among Africa’s youth. Social media now enables broad-based voter mobilization, real-time information sharing, and innovative civic initiatives, as seen in recent electoral cycles and protest movements. However, the article also addresses the proliferation of misinformation, algorithm-driven polarization, surveillance, and government-imposed restrictions that risk undermining electoral integrity and freedom of expression. Drawing on recent case studies from Tanzania, Ghana, and Cameroon, the discussion explores regional trends, the persistence of digital divides, and varying policy responses to the double-edged sword of digital participation. The article concludes by recommending strategies to strengthen digital literacy, inclusivity, and regulatory transparency to ensure that social media advances, rather than impedes, democratic governance in Africa.

Since the early 1990s, civil society has played a pivotal role in Africa’s democratic transformation. This article explores how civil society—including non-governmental organizations, grassroots movements, and advocacy groups—has contributed to the consolidation of democracy across the continent. Through civic education, electoral monitoring, anti-corruption advocacy, human rights defense, and social mobilization, civil society has emerged as a key driver of accountability, political participation, and institutional reform. Drawing on country case studies from Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, the article analyzes both the achievements and the challenges faced by civil society actors. While countries with vibrant civil society sectors show greater democratic resilience, the sector remains constrained by shrinking civic space, funding dependencies, political interference, and internal fragmentation. The paper concludes by offering policy recommendations to strengthen civil society’s role in democratic consolidation and emphasizes the need for legal protection, capacity building, inclusive coalitions, and digital civic innovation. The future of democracy in Africa may well depend on how governments and international partners support and engage with civil society.

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly exposed vulnerabilities in Africa’s health systems, causing severe disruption to essential services, exacerbating structural weaknesses, and prompting both challenges and transformative reforms. During the pandemic’s peak, African countries experienced declines of over 50% in health service utilization across outpatient, inpatient, maternal, malaria, and immunization care—a result of lockdowns, fear of infection, and resource reallocation. Critical health domains such as HIV, tuberculosis, and chronic disease management saw setbacks due to service interruptions, with long-term impacts including deferred care and surges in advanced disease presentations. The crisis spotlighted chronic underfunding, fragile health infrastructure, and gaps in workforce, diagnostics, and supply chains, especially in rural and marginalized communities.

Yet, the pandemic also catalyzed innovations and investments—accelerating digital health adoption, infrastructure upgrades, workforce resilience initiatives, and a policy shift toward universal health coverage and emergency preparedness. Cases from Senegal, Rwanda, and South Africa demonstrate how targeted reforms can build resilience, though enduring obstacles remain such as financing gaps, human resource shortages, and inadequate mental health support. The long-term burden is heightened by “long COVID” symptoms, with prevalence in Africa ranging widely and contributing to cumulative health system stress. Moving forward, sustained investment, regional collaboration, and a commitment to equity and health system strengthening are crucial for African countries to transform the pandemic’s lessons into lasting progress.

Africa’s youth are at the forefront of the continent’s response to the accelerating climate crisis—both as its most vulnerable generation and as dynamic agents of change. Representing nearly 60% of Africa’s total population, young people face disproportionate risks from climate impacts including extreme weather, food insecurity, and economic instability. This article analyzes the expanding landscape of youth climate engagement across policy advocacy, grassroots mobilization, entrepreneurship, education, civic action, and legal activism. Showcase examples include the Regional Conference of Youth in Climate Change (RCOY Africa), the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change (AYICC), the YouthADAPT Challenge supporting green entrepreneurship, and widespread school-based climate clubs. Case studies further illuminate the scale and diversity of youth-led solutions—from innovative adaptation enterprises to legal advocacy for climate justice. Despite notable progress and visibility at national and international forums, youth engagement faces persistent barriers, such as limited funding, underrepresentation in policymaking, capacity gaps, and entrenched gender disparities. The article concludes with actionable recommendations: institutionalize youth participation in climate governance, expand funding for grassroots and entrepreneurial projects, invest in climate education and digital inclusion, and prioritize gender equity. Empowering Africa’s youth is not only a justice imperative but a strategic necessity for building resilient, inclusive, and sustainable climate futures on the continent.