Togo’s Ministry of Culture is set to launch soon the next round of the Fonds national de promotion culturelle (FNPC), formerly known as the Fonds d’Aide à la Culture. The fund supports cultural and artistic initiatives across the country.

The government authorized the relaunch after a Council of Ministers meeting in Lomé on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. “The Council of Ministers has authorized the launch of the call for proposals for the Fonds national de promotion culturelle (FNPC), after the fund’s governing bodies were established,” the communiqué said.

The fund will be overseen by a board of directors and an executive directorate, which will ensure transparency and fairness in selecting applications.

The move marks a revival after several years of inactivity. The last open funding round was held in 2023, in the wake of COVID-19, when about 300 million CFA francs were awarded to 647 cultural projects.

The fund’s relaunch, reform and expansion have long been demanded by artists and cultural creators and are regularly raised in meetings with public authorities. Many view it as a driver of artistic development and a potential economic lever. The government says the relaunch aims to support artistic creation, production and distribution and to strengthen the cultural sector’s contribution to the national economy.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo's cabinet approved a draft bill on Wednesday aimed at protecting and promoting the country's cultural heritage. The legislation would update a 1990 law to strengthen heritage protection and adapt it to social changes and international standards, according to a government statement.

The bill, which will be submitted to parliament, introduces several key changes, including formal recognition of intangible and underwater heritage.

Intangible cultural heritage includes practices, know-how, expressions, knowledge and rituals passed down through generations. It covers non-material forms such as songs, dances and folk tales, as opposed to tangible heritage such as monuments.

Underwater cultural heritage refers to traces of human existence with historical, cultural or archaeological significance that have been submerged, partially or fully, in seas, lakes or rivers for at least 100 years.

The measures are expected to expand and strengthen heritage protection in Togo.

The draft law also seeks to align national legislation more closely with UNESCO conventions. It would strengthen enforcement under the penal code to better punish violations of intellectual property rights, according to the government.

The government also announced initiatives to promote Togolese cultural assets held abroad. A recent assessment identified more than 8,000 cultural objects, including works of art, religious artifacts, archives and human and animal remains, held in several foreign museums.

Togo is expected to begin efforts to secure their restitution. The cabinet authorized the creation of a national committee to oversee and manage the restitution process. The move comes amid growing debate over the return of African cultural heritage held overseas, particularly items looted or transferred during the colonial era.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s port city of Lomé will help secure Niger’s fertilizer supply chain, the minister for maritime affairs said on Wednesday after talks with Niger’s agriculture minister, Mahaman Elhadj Ousmane.

The port will handle the transit of 20,000 metric tons of fertilizer destined for Niger, he said. The move reflects closer economic ties between the two countries following Niger’s withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Amid strained relations with Benin, including the closure of land borders, Niger has increasingly relied on Lomé as its main trade corridor.

The arrangement comes as Togo seeks to position Lomé as a regional logistics hub supporting economic integration and West African supply chains.

It follows measures aimed at strengthening Lomé’s role in trade with Niger and other members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), including the introduction on June 1, 2024 of a minimum 40-day free storage period for transit containers bound for Niger.

Togo has also suspended statistical levies on sea-borne goods destined for AES countries, part of efforts to improve the corridor’s competitiveness and ensure trade flows to Sahelian markets.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo has launched a new response plan for its Emergency Programme for the Savanes Region (PURS), covering 2026–2027, to coordinate humanitarian efforts in the country’s north.

The plan, unveiled on Wednesday in Lomé, is expected to cost 18 billion CFA francs.

It aims to improve coordination, use resources more efficiently and deliver measurable results for displaced people and host communities in the region.

Over the two-year period, more than 430,000 vulnerable people are expected to receive support. Those targeted face risks including gender-based violence, insecurity and poor housing conditions, particularly among displaced households living with already overstretched host families, as well as ongoing shortages of water and sanitation services.

The programme also seeks to strengthen ongoing resilience and livelihood initiatives for displaced people and local communities.

“Its success will depend on our ability to work together, break down sectoral silos and place communities at the centre of our interventions,” said General Dadja Maganawè, national coordinator of PURS.

Nearly 60,000 displaced people from 28 nationalities are expected to benefit from the plan, which is backed by the United Nations in Togo.

“Togo has chosen dignity, social cohesion and inclusion by prioritising an out-of-camp policy that allows refugees to live within host communities,” said Coumba Sow, the U.N. resident coordinator. She reaffirmed the full support of technical and financial partners for the programme and the government.

Togo created PURS after a surge in militant attacks in its northern region beginning in November 2021. The programme was later expanded to support people fleeing similar violence in neighbouring countries.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo is moving ahead with plans for a second industrial park, following the launch of the Adétikopé Industrial Platform (PIA) in June 2021. The planned logistics zone in Agbélouvé, about 65 km north of Lomé, was the focus on Wednesday at a two-day forum opened in the capital by the Ministry for the Promotion of Investment and Economic Sovereignty, in partnership with GIZ.

The project is in its prefeasibility phase. The forum gathers stakeholders to discuss the structuring and management of industrial parks, with an emphasis on planning frameworks, governance and operational models. Authorities aim to align the project with international standards and best practices.

Discussions cover the key steps required to establish a high-performing industrial park, including defining the business model, financing options, institutional arrangements, investment attractiveness, shared services management, and compliance with environmental and social standards.

Through the Agbélouvé project, Togo seeks to create a new industrial growth hub to stimulate investment, strengthen competitiveness and accelerate industrialization.

The government also plans to build on experience from the PIA, moving toward an integrated eco-industrial park model. “Adopting the eco-industrial park approach reflects Togo’s ambition to join the new generation of African industrial economies: competitive, responsible and attentive to present and future generations,” said Ludovic Bédinadé, chief of staff at the ministry.

Germany could support the project. Johannes Klotz, head of cooperation at the German Embassy in Togo, said Berlin stands ready to assist the Togolese government in strengthening service delivery and institutional frameworks to meet international standards and promote sustainable investment.

Esaïe Edoh

Togo won both gold medals for the Africa and Indian Ocean regions at the “Cocoa of Excellence Awards 2026”, held on Feb. 20 in Amsterdam. The awards rank among the most prestigious in the cocoa industry and underscore the growing international profile of Togolese cocoa.

The competition pits samples from major producing regions against one another. Entries are assessed against strict criteria covering physical quality, aromatic profile and traceability.

The awards strengthen Togo’s position in the fine cocoa segment, a niche highly valued by specialist chocolatiers.

Stakeholders point to the agroforestry model as a key driver of this progress. The model is widely used across cocoa-growing areas, where cultivation is combined with forest species and relies on limited chemical inputs. It is often cited as a major factor behind the beans’ quality.

The gains also reflect reforms launched several years ago by the Coordination Committee for the Coffee and Cocoa Sectors (CCFCC), which focuses on quality improvement, traceability and value chain development. Togo had already been recognized in the 2021 and 2023 editions, pointing to sustained performance.

R.E.D

 Experts from the Volta Basin Authority (VBA) have been meeting in Lomé since Tuesday, Feb. 24, to finalize a tool aimed at better integrating environmental considerations into regional economic decision-making.

At the center of the discussions is the validation of the project’s fourth technical report, which assesses the natural capital and ecosystem services provided by the basin. The objective is to develop indicators that better quantify nature’s contribution to national economies.

“The Volta Basin has vast resources in hydroelectricity, agriculture and aquaculture. All of these are services provided by the environment,” said Dr. Dibi Millogo, Deputy Executive Director of the VBA.

He added that the goal is not only to establish robust environmental indicators, but also to adopt a common methodological framework shared by member states.

The meeting is part of a series of technical workshops held since 2025, including sessions in Bamako and Lomé, aimed at harmonizing approaches among the six VBA member countries. Before endorsing the new document, participants are reviewing earlier reports to strengthen the project’s methodological framework.

The workshop is scheduled to conclude on Friday, Feb. 27. Its recommendations are expected to inform public policies on water resource management, energy planning and ecosystem protection.

The initiative ultimately seeks to better align economic development with environmental sustainability, at a time when the region faces rapid population growth and increasing climate-related pressures.

One of West Africa’s largest transboundary river systems, the Volta Basin covers about 407,000 square kilometers across six countries: Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Structured around the Black, White and Red Voltas and the Oti River, it feeds Lake Volta, one of the world’s largest man-made lakes.

Although Burkina Faso and Ghana account for more than 85% of the basin’s surface area, the interdependence between upstream and downstream countries requires sustained cross-border coordination led by the Volta Basin Authority.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

Togo’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, introduced a national dress code for staff in public health facilities, as part of broader efforts to modernize and better organize the healthcare system.

Authorities say the reform is designed to address a persistent problem: patients often struggle to identify medical personnel quickly, particularly in emergencies. The absence of clear visual distinctions between staff categories has, officials say, led to confusion, delayed access to appropriate services and complicated the handling of complaints.

The new rules establish a standardized color-coded system to enable immediate identification of medical and administrative staff.

Doctors, dental surgeons and pharmacists will wear white coats or white uniforms. Nurses will wear white uniforms with blue collars. Midwives will be dressed in knee-length pink short-sleeved coats or striped pink uniforms. Birth attendants will wear solid pink uniforms.

Laboratory and operating room technicians will wear dark blue uniforms, in line with international practice. Pharmacy assistants will be identified by light green coats. Support staff, including nurse aides, cleaners and laundry workers, will wear purple uniforms.

Administrative staff, such as secretaries and receptionists, will wear beige coats. Morgue staff will be dressed in khaki uniforms. Health Minister Delegate Tchin Darré said the standardization would improve safety within hospitals and help build trust between healthcare workers and patients.

The government also views the measure as a tool to strengthen oversight of services and improve complaint handling, notably through the rollout of a dedicated toll-free hotline.

Esaïe Edoh