CSEA 2024 Annual Report

2024 marked a year of impactful initiatives and collaborations for CSEA, focused on advancing sustainable development and shaping important policy discussions across Africa. We strengthened both global and national partnerships through strategic meetings with key stakeholders, including California’s Secretary of Transportation, Dr. Toks Omishakin and Dr. Christopher Bielecki Counselor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) at the U.S. Consulate General in Nigeria. Other significant meetings included engagements with representatives from UNDP Nigeria, Mr Charles Ushie, the country director of PLAN International Nigeria and the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau (SAN). We also engaged with the Deputy Head of Mission & Political Counsellor from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, as well as a delegation from the International Trade Centre ahead of the launch event of the West African Competitiveness Observatory in Abuja. Our research continues to address critical challenges such as food insecurity, tobacco control, public procurement reforms, and macroeconomic resilience. Notable funded projects include the Soil Value Baseline Study by the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), and the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of flooding in Maiduguri, Borno State, commissioned by UNDP, as well as the research project on the implications of implementing the AfCFTA on tobacco control policies in West and Central Africa, commissioned by ACBF. We have also continued to receive the award to provide the Macro-fiscal brief for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.