It’s June 3rd and social media is abuzz with videos of hail the size of tennis balls and a sky that resembles something like smoke, 40 kilometres north of Durban. Reports come in that a tornado has hit the town of Tongaat and the surrounding area of Magwaveni. Within 24 hours, the government reaches out. UNFPA has become a go-to partner.

To implement the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), the province of KwaZulu Natal identified GBVF Champions, such as district and local mayors, counselors, Amakhosi, religious leaders, and Civil Society Organisations to provide guidance and leadership to municipalities on issues of GBVF and the implementation of the provincial strategic plan on GBVF.

As the sun set over Lusaka, Zambia on 10 November, a vibrant discussion by the Ministers in Charge of Population drew to a close, following two days of receiving reports from the African Population Experts Committee, writes Diene Keita, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director, Programme.