The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds the Ethiopian government for two new actions that signal the country’s continued commitment to driving down rates of tobacco use and saving lives. For the first time, Ethiopia and its capital city of Addis Ababa have adopted budgets with dedicated funding for tobacco control. These funds are a milestone in sustainable financing for public health and can help support a healthy future for all Ethiopians. 

These crucial investments in tobacco control bring further momentum to important progress already made in Ethiopia, including one of the strongest tobacco control laws in Africa and recent surveys showing progress in reducing tobacco use. Now, for the first time, the country’s federal budget includes a dedicated tobacco control line of over 23 million Ethiopian birr (approximately $150,000) for the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority (EFDA). In addition, the Addis Ababa city government has dedicated around 120 million birr (approximately $750,000) to strengthen tobacco control in the capital, with resources channeled to the city’s health regulatory authority and its 11 sub-cities.

These historic investments show what is possible when Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control back their commitment to public health with meaningful action. Now, the focus must turn to ensuring these funds are fully disbursed and used effectively to strengthen tobacco control policies. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids stands ready to support these important efforts. 

African ministers, representatives from continental institutions, the private sector, and development partners have called for Africa’s critical minerals to drive a new era of economic transformation, industrialisation and job creation – especially for young people and women, through value addition, regional value chains and beneficiation.

They made the call at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chains, and Beneficiation, held in Abidjan on Friday, 10 July 2026.

In a statement released at the end of the Forum organised by the African Development Bank Group, participants emphasised that the continent must extract more value from its abundant mineral resources by developing regional value chains, local processing capacities, and competitive industries, rather than continuing to primarily export raw materials.

Africa holds about 30% of the world’s most critical mineral deposits, including cobalt, lithium, graphite, rare earths, platinum group metals, copper, manganese, and nickel. Yet, the continent continues to export raw and unprocessed minerals, capturing only a negligible share of the total economic value of its own resources.

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Offices for Eastern and Central Africa, convened a side event on the margins of the 2026 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), bringing together policymakers, development partners, academics, youth representatives and United Nations agencies to discuss pathways for transforming informal work into sustainable livelihoods for young people across Africa.

Held under the theme “From Informal Work to Sustainable Livelihoods: Youth Pathways in Fragile Cities in Africa,” the event focused on solutions to address youth unemployment, skills gaps, limited access to finance, inclusive urban development, entrepreneurship and partnerships for scalable impact

At the opening of the event, Claver Gatete, the Executive Secretary of ECA underscored the importance of harmonizing and standardizing education systems, professional qualifications and skills certification across Africa to facilitate labour mobility and enable young people to access employment opportunities beyond national borders.

Participants emphasized that greater regional integration of qualifications would help unlock the continent’s human capital potential and support the aspirations of Agenda 2063. They also highlighted the urgent need to expand young people’s access to finance, business development services and entrepreneurial support ecosystems.