About the cover.

• Position: Photograph

This picture, taken by Olivier Asselin, shows shells and sticks (used for counting) and a slate lying on a desk in the village primary school in Essaout in the south-western Ziguinchor region of Senegal.

Young people comprise nearly half of the more than 12 million inhabitants of Senegal, but persistent poverty and chronic food insecurity continue to threaten children's welfare and...