The rule of the strongest is back: while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke of a “new world of great powers” at Davos, Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan chose to sit at a wooden school desk in one of the world’s poorest countries, listening to young people in Sierra Leone.
Students chatted with the minister in English over plates of rice, vegetables and climate-adapted crops like sweet potatoes grown by local farmers who now have a more reliable income. Food security, education and climate resilience are the priorities Radovan emphasised.
“Being here with the children right now is much more important than being in Davos,” said Antoine Renard, head of Public Partnership at the UN World Food Programme (WFP). The WFP and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) back the national school lunch program in Karene district. Since 2023, more than 34,000 children in 115 schools have benefited from free school meals. The BMZ has provided about €10 million in addition to Sierra Leone’s own funding.
Sierra Leone’s Trade Minister Ibrahim Alpha Sesay said the program is creating an economic ecosystem and internal trade. The country’s revenues are extremely limited—only 8.6% of GDP—and the withdrawal of most US development projects in August 2025 left major gaps in nutrition, clean water, vaccines and education. Around 77% of people in Sierra Leone lack a secure daily meal.
“We are not leaving!” Radovan declared. Her new strategy, “Shaping the future together globally,” focuses on least developed countries (LDCs), especially in Africa, positioning Germany as a partner in contrast to rising neo-imperial influence.
Fighting hunger and inequality is also framed as a way to curb conflict, crime and terrorism, risks that affect Sierra Leone’s neighbors. From Burkina Faso to Guinea-Bissau, coups have triggered refugee flows, and cross-border drug trafficking is driving youth into addiction. Sierra Leone will hold the ECOWAS presidency until June 2026 and is committed to regional stability and free, fair elections; Germany wants to support those aims.
Mutual trust has enabled sensitive geopolitical discussions, Radovan said, including concerns about “shadow fleets and the activities of other states here on the ground,” a reference to growing involvement by systemic rivals such as China, Turkey, Gulf states and Russia. China is Sierra Leone’s most important trading partner—accounting for 48% of foreign trade—and has shaped mining and infrastructure. Turkey helped build the modern airport in Lungi.
German companies, however, have largely stayed away so far. Radovan said she is counting on the private sector, especially given planned cuts to German development cooperation in the 2027 budget, but many firms still see the risk as too high; no business delegations accompanied the minister.
Private investment, fair trade and a stable financial system remain essential to ensure a future for Sierra Leone’s youth. Matthias Mogge, who established Welthungerhilfe’s first Sierra Leone project 13 years ago, is focusing on education and skills. His “Skills up!” program in Newton teaches young people to grow vegetables and install solar panels, addressing youth unemployment—reported as high as 70% in some areas—and creating productive, sustainable agribusinesses rather than subsistence farming. The cultivated fields serve as an economic and social oasis, offering a path to prosperity for the next generation.
This story was originally published in German.