A rare school in Kenya is empowering teenage mothers with education and child care

KAJIADO, Kenya (AP) — Valerie Wairimu has no time to rest during break time at Kenya's Greenland Girls School. The teenager grabs a snack and goes straight to what makes this school unique: its nursery.

Kenya Teenage Mothers

The 19-year-old is met by a team of nannies who have been watching her baby, Kayden, before she feeds him between classes.

The school is the only educational institute inKenyadedicated to teenage mothers and cares for many of their children. For its 310 students and more than 80 children from infants to toddlers, Greenland represents a second chance at school that is free from stigma and, experts say, a model for how young mothers can be reintegrated into education.

"When I found that I was pregnant, I didn't have anywhere else to go," said Wairimu, who has placed near the top of her class in exams at Greenland and hopes to become a doctor.

The boarding school was founded in 2015 and has put hundreds of girls and young women through secondary education while supporting their children. Some have gone on to successful professional careers, including in government and medicine.

The school is run by the nonprofit group Shining Hope for Communities and many students attend through grants.

The majority of students come from surroundingKajiado County, south of Nairobi, where the school has a network of outreach officers who can refer expecting mothers.

The school also is connected to social services and known to teachers across Kenya, including in the far west where Wairimu is from. She was living in a family with a single father and younger brother and unable to afford to care for a newborn. Her grandmother was aware of the school and had Wairimu referred.

Many of the students are from difficult backgrounds and some became pregnant as a result of sexual assault, as well as forced marriages.

Paul Mukilya, the school's manager, said parents often are not supportive and the school's outreach officers are left to seek agreement with community elders for students to attend.

"Some of the challenges which the students encounter are the family and the community. Most of them have failed to accept them the way they are," Mukilya said. "When they come here, we take them through psychological counseling and mentorship."

Sex involving minors — those under 18 — is illegal in Kenya, but the law is structured so only males are charged with a crime. Underage pregnancies often end up in court and Greenland supports its students and liaises with local authorities, especially in cases of underage marriages.

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While students are in class, the school's staff take over child care and provide mentorship for the young women.

"Some of the mothers view their children as a burden," said Caroline Mumbai, a caregiver at Greenland who has two children of her own. "So we also teach them how to mother."

Making education accessible for teenage mothers is a challenge in Kenya and a mounting task for a country with a fast-growing young population. More than 125,000 live births in 2024 were by adolescent mothers under 19, according to Kenyan national statistics.

The Population Council, a health and development think tank, found in 2015 that two-thirds of teenage mothers cited their pregnancy as their reason for dropping out of school. As recently as 2022, research group IDinsight found unintended pregnancy was, after a lack of money for school fees, the leading cause of girls not returning to education.

Responding to demand from Kenya's coastal regions, Greenland Girls School is opening a second campus in Kilifi County.

"Every girl who gets pregnant and drops out during their school time must be allowed reentry," said Dr. Githinji Gitahi, chief executive of development agency Amref Health Africa. "Special schools are important in supplementing the general scalable policy framework. We should focus on these schools that are helping to close the equity gap."

Greenland students say they also appreciate an environment free from stigma, which encourages learning.

"People used to judge me because I got pregnant," said Mary Wanjiku, 20, whose son is almost 18 months old. She now hopes to become a lawyer.

"The moment I came here, I was received with love," she said.

For more on Africa and development:https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

byVincento Seyarto

in

April 02, 2026

A rare school in Kenya is empowering teenage mothers with education and child care

KAJIADO, Kenya (AP) — Valerie Wairimu has no time to rest during break time at Kenya's Greenland Girls School. The te...

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Hopes dim for swift end to Iran war after Trump speech, oil prices surge

By Steve Holland and Enas Alashray

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation about the Iran war at the White House in Washington

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - Hopes for a swift end to the Middle East war faded on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed more aggressive strikes on Iran, disappointing investors hoping for clearer signals of a way out of the month-long conflict.

Stocks slid, oil prices surged and the dollar gained after Trump said military operations would be intensified in the next two to three weeks, ‌offering no concrete timeline for ending hostilities that have sparked global energy supply chaos and threatened to send the world economy into a tailspin.

"I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America's ‌military objectives shortly, very shortly," Trump said in a Wednesday evening prime-time speech.

"We're going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong."

Trump also suggested the war could escalate if Iranian leaders did not give in ​to U.S. terms during negotiations, with strikes on Iran's energy and oil infrastructure possible.

Iran's armed forces responded with a warning for the United States and Israel of "more crushing, broader and more destructive" attacks in store.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari, a spokesperson of the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, said the war would continue until the "permanent regret and surrender" of Tehran's enemies, according to a statement shared by Iranian media.

NO REASSURANCE ON ENERGY CRISIS

Benchmark Brent crude prices jumped about 6% to $107.69 per barrel, with little reassurance from Trump's address about how the critical Strait of Hormuz energy conduit would reopen. Prices had fallen earlier on Thursday after settling lower in the previous session.

Stocks took a hit, with U.S. index futures down 1.3% and European futures sinking over 2%. Almost all Asian bourses were in the red, with Japan's Nikkei down ‌2.4% and MSCI's index of other Asia-Pacific shares down more than 2%.

"If he (Trump) was ⁠trying to inspire confidence in the markets, he has not done that," said Russel Chesler, Head of Investments and Capital Markets at Vaneck Australia. "The key question in all investors' minds is 'When is this going to be over?'"

There was no let up in hostilities, with the Israeli military saying it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory. Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said it had intercepted ⁠four drones on Thursday and Abu Dhabi said its defence systems had intercepted a missile near an economic zone, with minor damage caused.

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad urged its citizens to leave Iraq, warning of attacks in the capital by Iran-allied militia in the next 24-48 hours.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since February 28, when the U.S. and Israel struck Iran, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, U.S. bases and the Gulf states, while opening a new front in Lebanon.

Iran also all but closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital ​waterway ​carrying about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, pushing up energy costs and weighing on Trump's sagging approval ratings months ahead ​of pivotal midterm congressional elections.

Trump in his speech mentioned what he called a short-term rise in ‌domestic gasoline prices but said the U.S. did not need the strait and he challenged allies who rely on oil in the region to work towards reopening it. He blamed the higher costs on Iran's "deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers".

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The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and International Energy Agency on Wednesday warned the war was having "substantial, global and highly asymmetric" effects and said they would coordinate their response, including through potential financial support to those countries hit hardest.

PROSPECTS ELUSIVE FOR NEAR-TERM RESOLUTION

In an interview with Reuters earlier on Wednesday, Trump said U.S.-Israeli strikes had ensured Iran would not obtain nuclear weapons, adding that U.S. forces could return with "spot hits" if the threat resurfaces.

"They were right at the doorstep (of a nuclear weapon)," Trump said in his TV address, without providing evidence, touting what he said were "swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield".

"We are systematically dismantling the regime's ability to threaten America or project power outside of their borders."

Prior to Trump's remarks, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a letter addressed to ‌the American people that his country harbours no enmity towards ordinary Americans.

Trump said discussions were ongoing with Iranian leaders he considered less radical than ​previous leaders. On social media earlier Wednesday, he said Iran had requested a ceasefire but that would not be considered until its Strait of Hormuz ​blockade ends. Iran denied making any such request.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran is demanding ​a guaranteed ceasefire to halt its attacks and said no talks have taken place through intermediaries on a temporary truce.

Some analysts say if Trump were to end the war without a deal, Iran ‌could emerge more emboldened, with greater leverage.

'GO TO THE STRAIT AND JUST TAKE IT'

Two security sources ​from Pakistan, which is mediating in the conflict, told Reuters that ​Islamabad had proposed a temporary ceasefire but had not heard back from either side.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance communicated with Pakistani intermediaries about the Iran conflict as recently as Tuesday, according to a source briefed on the matter, making clear Trump was open to a ceasefire if certain demands were met.

Trump had suggested on Tuesday he could wind down the war soon without a deal and scaled up threats to withdraw from NATO, to which he told ​Reuters he planned to express his disgust for what he considers its lack of support.

European ‌states have sought to appear unruffled, and France's junior army minister Alice Rufo said operations by NATO in the Strait of Hormuz would be a breach of international law.

Trump did not explicitly mention NATO in his ​address but urged countries needing oil to buy it from the United States or to "build up some delayed courage".

"Go to the Strait and just take it," Trump said. "Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part ​is done, so it should be easy."

(Reporting by Reuters Bureaux; Writing by Nathan Layne and Martin Petty; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

byVincento Seyarto

in

April 02, 2026

Hopes dim for swift end to Iran war after Trump speech, oil prices surge

By Steve Holland and Enas Alashray U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation about th...

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Expelled from camp, Palestinian refugees now face Iranian rockets

By Pesha Magid

TULKARM, West Bank, April 2 (Reuters) - The sight and sound of Iranian rockets arcing overhead have become near-daily for the Palestinian Ghanem family, expelled by the Israeli military from a refugee camp and now living in a rickety shack with a thin metal roof offering little protection.

The family are among an estimated 32,000 ‌people who Israel's military forced last year from homes in three longstanding camps housing Palestinian refugees and their descendants in the occupied West Bank.

Their situation has become even more precarious ‌since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, exposing the West Bank to falling debris from Iranian missiles taken out by Israeli interceptors.

"The children were terrified by the sound of the rockets," said Madleen Ghanem, who has children aged ​three, eight, 11 and 14 living with her in a one-room shack, while her older children live elsewhere.

More than 270 pieces of missile debris have fallen on the West Bank since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence rescue service.

Unlike in Israel, where bomb shelters are widely available, the West Bank has virtually no shelters, giving the Ghanem family nowhere to hide.

While Iran has not been reported to deliberately target Palestinian territories, four Palestinian women were killed last month when an Iranian missile hit the West Bank town of Hebron.

"We don't have shelters, the space where we stay is the same space ‌we hide in. There are no shelters and no place to ⁠run to," said Madleen.

Israel's military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'THEY MADE US LEAVE'

In early 2025, during a brief truce in fighting with Hamas in Gaza, Israel's military began demolishing homes and destroying roadways in Tulkarm camp, the nearby Nur Shams camp, and the Jenin refugee camp in the northern ⁠West Bank.

Israel said its operations in the camps were necessary to demolish civilian infrastructure so that it could not be exploited by militants. Human Rights Watch called the expulsions war crimes and crimes against humanity, in a report on the displacements published last year.

Some leaders from Israel's ruling coalition have called repeatedly for Israel to annex the West Bank, an area around 100 km (60 miles) long that Palestinians see as the core of a ​future ​independent state, along with Gaza.

Israel cites historical and biblical ties to the West Bank, which it captured during ​a 1967 war.

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'CAN'T EVEN PROVIDE BASIC FOOD'

The Ghanems had lived in a three-storey ‌house in the crowded Tulkarm camp, where the women of the family had spent decades growing trees, flowers and vines that hugged their verandas.

Areej Ghanem, Madleen's sister-in-law, says Israeli soldiers broke into their family's home without warning in the middle of the night last year.

"We didn't take clothes, nothing at all. They made us leave. Our father can't get up or down...He's an old man, he can't walk. We left, dragging him," Areej said.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the Ghanems' case.

After their house was destroyed, like many others in the camp, Areej, her sister and her niece moved with their father, Mahmoud Ghanem, 89, to a small rented room in the nearby town of Tulkarm.

Areej is the only one in the family earning money, working as a maid. ‌The room they rented is small with no kitchen, so Areej washes dishes in the bathroom. With little money, ​they have not been able to afford meat for more than a year.

"Honestly I have no hope for the future. ​We can't even provide basic food," Areej said.

Meanwhile Madleen, her husband Ibrahim - Areej's brother - and ​their children, who had also lived in the family house, moved to a different part of Tulkarm, where they had bought a small plot in 2023, ‌just before the Gaza war broke out.

Ibrahim had been working as a construction ​worker, one of thousands of Palestinians permitted to cross ​into Israel for work. But after the Hamas-led attacks in 2023, which sparked the Gaza war, Israel pulled work permits from most Palestinians. Ibrahim has been unemployed since.

Ibrahim says he and his wife sometimes cannot afford gas and instead do their cooking over a fire outdoors.

Though they now live about an hour's walk apart, the family tries to gather each ​week to create a semblance of normality.

At a dusty, roadside playground on ‌a recent Friday, Areej and Madleen spread a picnic blanket over a faded patch of synthetic turf as their children played.

Madleen said she dreams of finishing the house ​they started building and hopes one day the family can reunite under one roof. Areej said the important thing is that they find a way to remain together.

"Either ​we die together or we live joyfully together," she said.

(Reporting by Pesha Magid; Editing by Alex Richardson)

byVincento Seyarto

in

April 02, 2026

Expelled from camp, Palestinian refugees now face Iranian rockets

By Pesha Magid TULKARM, West Bank, April 2 (Reuters) - The sight and sound of Iranian rockets arcing overhead ...

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Death of near-blind refugee in Buffalo ruled a homicide, officials say

Thedeath of a nearly blind refugeefrom Myanmar who had been missing for several days after U.S. Border Patrol agents left him outside a Tim Hortons restaurant in upstate New York has been ruled a homicide, officials announced Wednesday, April 1.

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, was found dead on Feb. 24 near the KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo, New York, in freezing weather, according to officials. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said it was unclear how Shah Alam got to the sports arena, which is where the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres play, and that officials did not have information on how long he had been there before his body was discovered.

TheErie County Medical Examiner's Officedetermined Shah Alam's death was caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. The medical examiner's office said his death was ruled a homicide because it resulted from the "volitional act of another, which may include negligent acts or omissions."

The medical examiner's office noted that the designation of homicide "does not imply intent to cause harm or death" and that the determinations of the manner of death are "neutral, non-legal, and exist for vital statistical purposes, only."

"I want to express my deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Amin Shah Alam for the death. It should not have happened, simple as that. The death was one that we believe could have been prevented," Poloncarz said at anews conferenceon April 1.

Poloncarz added that he was unable to comment on whether the Border Patrol was responsible for Shah Alam's death and said any conclusions would be up to law enforcement agencies, such as the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

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Family member: Arrest due to misunderstanding with police

Shah Alam, who was an Erie County resident and from a family of Arakan Rohingya refugees, did not speak English and walked with a cane. He had been missing since Feb. 19, when Border Patrol agents dropped him off outside a Tim Hortons restaurant miles from his home.

Border Patrol had briefly detained Shah Alam after he was released from a county jail, where he had spent much of the last year awaiting trial on criminal charges that resulted in a misdemeanor plea deal. Mohamad Faisal, one of Shah Alam's children, previously told Reuters that his father's arrest about a year ago was due to a misunderstanding with police officers.

Shah Alam had been out for a walk and had been using a curtain rod he purchased as a walking stick, Faisal said. He said his father then got lost and walked onto the property of a Buffalo resident who called the police.

When Shah Alam did not understand police commands to drop his curtain rod, they arrested him, according to Faisal. "Nobody told me or my family or attorney where my dad was dropped off," Faisal added.

The Erie County District Attorney's Office said Shah Alam was arrested following an incident that resulted in minor injuries to two Buffalo police officers. Shah Alam was released on bail this month after agreeing to a plea deal, according to the district attorney's office.

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said agents had dropped Shah Alam off at the Tim Hortons after they determined he had entered the country as a refugee and could not be deported. At the time, temperatures in Buffalo were below freezing.

"Border Patrol agents offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop, determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address, rather than be released directly from the Border Patrol station," the agency said. "He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues or disabilities requiring special assistance."

At the time of Shah Alam's death, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on X that the death had "nothing to do" with Border Patrol and called the story "another hoax being peddled by the media and sanctuary politicians to demonize our law enforcement."

More Homeland Security news:DHS pauses plan to purchase warehouses for detention centers

'He was abandoned and left to suffer alone'

At the time of the incident, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said in a statement that Shah Alam's death was preventable and the result of "inhumane" decision-making by federal immigration authorities.

"A vulnerable man — nearly blind and unable to speak English — was left alone on a cold winter night with no known attempt to leave him in a safe, secure location," Ryan said. "That decision from U.S. Customs and Border Protection was unprofessional and inhumane."

During the April 1 news conference, Burstein said the official autopsy and report on Shah Alam's death could not be publicly released due to New York state law. But Erie County Health Commissioner Gale Burstein said Shah Alam developed a "stress ulcer" that had burst, and the "stress was felt to be hypothermia, being in very cold temperatures and dehydration, so no access to liquids."

"That is a medical emergency and if that is not repaired in a short period of time, it can cause death, which is what we have seen in this instance," Burstein said at the news conference.

Shah Alam's death sparked outrage over the treatment of immigrants in PresidentDonald Trump's contentious immigration enforcement. Other than Shah Alam's case, at least 14 people have died in immigration custody this year, according to Reuters.

In a statement on April 1,New York Attorney General Letitia Jamessaid her office would continue to review the "circumstances and treatment" that led to Shah Alam's death.New York Gov. Kathy Hochulalso called for accountability in the case and said her office was in contact with the local district attorney.

"Mr. Shah Alam fled genocide to build a life in this country. Instead, he was abandoned and left to suffer alone in his final hours," James said in a statement.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Death of nearly blind refugee in Buffalo ruled a homicide: Officials

byVincento Seyarto

in

April 01, 2026

Death of near-blind refugee in Buffalo ruled a homicide, officials say

Thedeath of a nearly blind refugeefrom Myanmar who had been missing for several days after U.S. Border Patrol agents left...

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South Korea's Lee urges prompt passage of $17 billion extra budget amid Middle East energy crisis

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae ‌Myung on Thursday urged ‌parliament to promptly pass a 26.2 ​trillion won ($17.3 billion) supplementary budget to shore up the economy amid "the worst energy security threat" ‌posed by ⁠the Middle East crisis.

FILE PHOTO: South Korea considers nationwide driving curbs as oil prices soar

"Even if the war ends ⁠tomorrow, it will take a considerable period of time ​for the ​destroyed ​energy infrastructure facilities ‌in the Middle East to be restored and supplies to run as smoothly as before," Lee told parliament in ‌a televised speech.

Parliament ​is expected to ​pass the ​extra budget by ‌April 10.

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The government plans ​to ​implement the budget as soon as it is approved ​by parliament.

($1 = ‌1,521.6000 won)

(Reporting by Joyce ​Lee and Jihoon LeeEditing ​by Ed Davies)

byVincento Seyarto

in

April 01, 2026

South Korea's Lee urges prompt passage of $17 billion extra budget amid Middle East energy crisis

SEOUL, April 2 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae ‌Myung on Thursday urged ‌parliament to promptly pass a 26.2 ​t...

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New Zealand and Cook Islands sign a defense pact, easing tensions over a China deal

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand and Cook Islands signed a defense and security pact Thursday, easingmore than a year of tensionbetween the Pacific nations over Cook Islands' deepening ties with China.

New Zealand Cook Islands

The fraught diplomatic standoff that prompted Wellington topause millions of dollars in aidto Avarua was hardly a clash of geopolitical heavyweights: New Zealand has a population of 5 million, while Cook Islands has 15,000 people. But the lengthy freeze gripped Pacific observers because it reflected the struggle confronting tiny island nations with close ties to Western countries such as New Zealand and Australia as they seek to balance their traditional alliances with overtures from Beijing.

In the new declaration, Cook Islands pledged New Zealand would be its "partner of choice regarding defense and security matters," apparently quashing the prospect, feared by Wellington, of China occupying the role. It resolved "ambiguity" about the two countries' existing ties, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said.

Diplomatic spat began over China deal

When Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown inked acomprehensive strategic partnershipbetween his country and China during a visit to Beijing in February 2025, it provoked alarm in Wellington because Brown wouldn't divulge the content of the deal first, a refusal New Zealand officials said could have security implications. Cook Islands is a self-governing country with a 60-year free association relationship to New Zealand, which means it's defended by New Zealand's military and citizens can live and work freely in New Zealand.

The links require Cook Islands leaders to consult with Wellington on deals with other countries that might affect New Zealand. Brown defended his decision not to disclose the contents of his pact with China, which he said was unnecessary under his country's existing accords with Wellington.

New Zealand — which is Cook Islands' biggest benefactor — froze millions of dollars in aid over the episode, although it wasn't a large amount of the total funding that Wellington contributes. That aid would now flow again, Peters told reporters during a visit to Cook Islands on Thursday, where he and Brown signed the new agreement.

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"This declaration seeks to remove previous ambiguity about the nature of the relationship between New Zealand and the Cook Islands, especially as it pertains to defense and security," Peters said.

Larger powers vie for sway in the Pacific

Cook Islands, an archipelago of 15 islands in the vast South Pacific Ocean, is among manysmall nations in the regionto be courted by Beijing, which has offered aid, loans and deals throughout the Pacific to increase its sway. The sparsely populated South Pacific is considered strategically important and many of its countries, including Cook Islands, have large and lucrative exclusive economic zones, where Brown is exploring prospects for mining of deep sea minerals.

"The strategic environment we face is more complex and contested today than at any other point since New Zealand and the Cook Islands formed our free association relationship in 1965," Peters said Thursday.

Leaders silent on what the deal means for China pact

Cook Islanders hold New Zealand passports, which was partly why the deals with China prompted such dismay about security in Wellington. Brown in October 2024 suggested he would consider the creation of a separate Cook Islands passport, a plan he later shelved after he said New Zealand had "bared its teeth" over the matter.

"It's no secret that our two governments have had a series of serious disagreements since late 2024," Peters said Thursday.

Both leaders, however, dismissed questions about what the declaration between New Zealand and Cook Islands meant for Avarua's earlier deal with Beijing, which covered matters such as deep sea mining, infrastructure and educational scholarships but didn't contain explicit security elements. Brown told reporters the agreement with New Zealand didn't affect his country's other pacts.

But New Zealand would be "our first port of call on anything to do with defense and security," Brown said.

byVincento Seyarto

in

April 01, 2026

New Zealand and Cook Islands sign a defense pact, easing tensions over a China deal

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand and Cook Islands signed a defense and security pact Thursday, easingmore than ...

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New funding transforms lives by expanding electricity access across Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Before dawn in the narrow alleys of Mathare, an informal settlement in Kenya's capital, Agnes Mbesa flicks on a single bulb hanging from her tin roof. For years, the mother of three relied on smoky kerosene lamps. Now electricity lights her home and powers the small shop she runs from her veranda.

APTOPIX Africa Electrification Funding

"Before the power came, we closed early because it was too dark," Mbesa said. "Now people come even at night, and I can earn something."

Hundreds of kilometers (miles) from Nairobi in Sori, western Kenya, fisherman Samuel Oketch tells a similar story. After a solar mini-grid reached his village, he bought a freezer to store his catch. Fish that once had to be sold quickly at low prices can now be preserved and transported to nearby towns.

"These small changes mean a lot," Oketch said. "Electricity gives us options. My wife can now sell (fish) without being taken advantage of by brokers who had the freezers."

Pledges to expand energy access

Their experiences with electrification funded by philanthropic and government sources highlight how expanded energy access cantransform the livesand improve livelihoods. More than 730 million people worldwide still lack access to electricity, about 600 million of them in Africa. Limited access constrains health care, education, digital connectivity and job creation.

New financing aims to accelerate progress. The European Investment Bank pledged more than $1.15 billion in March for renewable energy projects across sub-Saharan Africa, including hydropower, solar, wind and grid expansion.

"This funding is Europe's commitment to provide cleaner, more affordable, and reliable energy for hundreds of millions of people in Africa," said European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño.

The Rockefeller Foundation also announced in March at the Africa Energy Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa, that it will invest an additional $10 million to support electrification programs in at least 15 African countries. The funding will be deployed with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet to strengthen national programs and support government reforms.

"African governments are choosing to transform their energy sectors by committing to national energy compacts and investing in African-led solutions," said William Asiko, senior vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation.

How donors support sustainable energy expansion

The investments support the Mission 300 initiative led by the World Bank and theAfrican Development Bank, which aims to connect 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030 through grid expansion and decentralized solutions such as mini-grids and off-grid solar. Across much of Africa, where national electricity grids are often unreliable, mini-grids have emerged as a key alternative. These small, community-level systems, typically powered by solar or hybrid energy, generate and distribute electricity locally.

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Off-grid systems, by contrast, operate independently at the household level. These include stand-alone solar kits that provide direct access to power, helping bridge electricity gaps in remote and underserved areas.

The initiative is providing governments in Malawi and Liberia with technical assistance to support national energy plans, expand transmission networks and improve the reliability and efficiency of distribution systems. Efforts in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal include local currency financing and pooled procurement support.

Andrew Herscowitz, CEO of the Mission 300 Accelerator at RF Catalytic Capital, said scaling access will require sustained financing and stronger implementation capacity, including improved monitoring and better-aligned support to accelerate connections.

"Energy access is key to unlocking human potential and economic development," Herscowitz said.

Projects boost electrification rates

Kenya has received funding since 2017 from the World Bank, African Development Bank and partners under Mission 300 to support its Last Mile Connectivity program, which targets households near existing transformers, particularly in rural areas and informal settlements, as it pushes toward universal electricity access by 2030. Rural access rose to about 68% in 2023 from just under 7% in 2010.

Across eastern and southern Africa, where only about 48% of the population and 26% in rural areas have access to electricity, World Bank programs aim to expand access in up to 20 countries over the next seven years through renewable energy projects.

Mbesa, the shopkeeper in Mathare, was connected to electricity in 2021 under the Last Mile Connectivity Project. The initiative provided free connections to households and small businesses located near transformers, with funders covering the standard $115 connection fee. In more remote areas like Oketch's, the project incorporated off-grid solutions, including providingmini-grids and solar systems, to reach communities beyond the national grid.

For Mbesa, the impact is already clear. The single bulb above her shop has extended her working hours and allowed her children to study at night.

"Electricity changes everything," she said. "Once you have it, life starts moving forward."

The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP'sstandardsfor working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas atAP.org.

byVincento Seyarto

in

April 01, 2026

New funding transforms lives by expanding electricity access across Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Before dawn in the narrow alleys of Mathare, an informal settlement in Kenya's capital, Agnes M...

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