Africa region
The Africa region of Nexus Consortiums is designed around the systems that cross the continent's borders: transboundary river basins, regional power pools, trade and mineral corridors, food and pastoral systems and cross-border health. Country programmes set the agenda, and regional work compares compatible evidence so that each government, operator and community can decide with a clearer view of what it depends on. The region is forming. Three hubs are planned as coordination roles; none operates, and none is an office. This page sets out the region from the perspective of The Global Risks Forum (GRF).
- 01In briefThe short answer
- 02Shared systemsQuestions that cross borders in Africa
- 03Frameworks in forceThe African architecture for shared risk
- 04Dialogue questionsQuestions that a regional dialogue could take up
- 05Planned hubsCoordination roles, not offices
- 06GRF's roleLeadership and dialogue in the region
- 07State and boundariesWhat is in place, and what is not
GRF · Institution · service level R0
The short answer.
The Africa region, seen from GRF, is the forming Nexus Consortiums region built around systems that cross the continent's borders: transboundary basins, power pools, trade and mineral corridors, food and pastoral systems and cross-border health. Basin and power-pool dialogues are the clearest case for GRF's convening role, and no regional host is on record.
Water security in Africa.
Rivers, lakes and how far each division sits from mapped surface water, in Africa.
The African architecture for shared risk.
- The African Union's Programme of Action for the implementation of the Sendai Framework and the Africa Regional Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.
- Africa CDC, with a continental mandate for public health surveillance and response, and the African Medicines Agency.
- The African Continental Free Trade Area, reshaping trade corridors and the logistics risks along them.
- Basin organisations such as the Nile Basin Initiative, the Niger Basin Authority and ZAMCOM, and power pools in the southern, eastern and western regions.
- African Risk Capacity, the AU specialised agency for pre-arranged disaster finance.
Questions that a regional dialogue could take up.
| Question | Institutions involved | Evidence route |
|---|---|---|
| How are early warnings for drought shared across the Horn of Africa and acted on by pastoral authorities? | IGAD and its climate centre, national meteorological services, livestock ministries | GCRI Food Nexus |
| Who decides on water releases when a shared reservoir serves power and irrigation in several states? | Basin commission, utilities, power pool | GCRI Water Nexus |
| How does pre-arranged drought finance connect to a national response plan? | Finance ministry, disaster agency, regional risk pool | GRA disaster risk finance |
Coordination roles, not offices.
No regional host is on record. North African states also take part in the Middle East and North Africa region, so basin and corridor questions can be examined from both regional perspectives.
| Planned hub | Programme focus | State |
|---|---|---|
| Senegal | Sahel and coastal dependencies, basins, food, water, energy and regional capability development | Planned |
| Kenya | Drought, pastoral systems, geothermal energy, health, ports and regional connectivity | Planned |
| South Africa | Water, energy and mining dependencies, municipal systems, industrial continuity and transition | Planned |
A planned hub is a proposed coordination role for shared-system work across a group of countries. It is not an operating site, an office or an exclusive territory, and countries listed in a hub's scope do not, by that fact, have constituted programmes.
Leadership and dialogue in the region.
Basin and power-pool dialogues are the clearest case for GRF's convening role in the region: upstream and downstream authorities, utilities, farmers' organisations and communities share a system but rarely a table.
Shared-system dialogues
Documented dialogues among the authorities, operators and communities who share a system, with agreements and dissent recorded.
Regional roles in formation
Regional leadership roles are in formation; their scope is published only once adopted. See Regional leadership.
Regional missions
Regional missions can be proposed to Nexus Universe and admitted at gate G1 against published criteria.
What is in place, and what is not.
- Programme state: forming. No regional programme decision, host agreement or hub is described as operating.
- National structures keep agenda authority and may decline participation or data sharing.
- No regional body binds a country, and withdrawal never erases other parties' lawful work.
- GRF convenes and records. It does not regulate, finance, procure or certify.
Where to go next.
The regional desk, run by the Consortium Secretariat, is africa@therisk.global. The acknowledgement gives a reference and names the next step. The technical view of the region is on GCRI's Africa region page, and its financial-system questions on GRA's Africa region page. Other regions on this site include Asia and the Pacific and Europe and Eurasia, all listed on Regional cooperation.
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Transboundary basin | A river, lake or aquifer basin shared by two or more countries, where use upstream changes the water, sediment and risk that arrive downstream. |
| Joint body | A commission or organisation created by states to implement an agreement on a shared resource. |
| Multi-level governance | Shared decision-making across local, regional, national and international levels of government. |
Where this page's references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
Does a planned hub in Senegal, Kenya or South Africa mean GRF has an office there?
Can a river basin organisation take part?
How does my institution take part in Africa?
Are there results for this region yet?
Around GRF.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.