2.6 million more people financially included in Nigeria, and other news (08 Jan 2019)

Every Tuesday we highlight some of the international development stories from across the globe that have caught our attention.

• 2.6 million more people in Nigeria have engaged with financial services, helped by various factors including the Central Bank of Nigeria’s financial inclusion policies. The nation’s aim is 80% financial inclusion by 2020; the current inclusion rate has risen to 63.6%. Read more in The Nation (Nigeria).

• The Government of Pakistan disbursed RS187 billion (£1 billion) under their Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in 2018-19 – approximately a third of which was foreign aid for development projects. The programme includes development to highways, railways, water resources, education, and other areas. Read more in Pakistan Today.

• Agricultural demand continues to grow, and the threats of climate change have caused concern about the ability to grow sufficient crops. Scientists now believe they have found a way to boost yields from crops including rice and wheat through a modified ‘shortcut’ in photosynthesis. Read more in The Nation (Pakistan).

• The new acting executive of Kampala Capital City Authority, in Uganda, has said that it will focus on infrastructure to ease mobility in the first six months. Five more city roads will be constructed and others renovated, under the second Kampala Institutional and Infrastructural Project, funded by the World Bank. Read more in Daily Monitor (Uganda).