The present report is one of the main outputs of the World Bank project "Development of mercury trade di-agnostic for Sub-Saharan Africa". The project builds on the current efforts of the World Bank Group, Environ-mental & Natural Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa, focused on chemicals and wastes. It specifically con-tributes through the development of a sub-regional trade diagnostic of mercury in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the context of this project, particular attention has been given to the domestic trade of mercury surrounding artisanal and small-scale gold mining – the largest mer-cury use and demand activity in the region and globally, of which so far little is yet known.
The overall goal of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership is to protect human health and the environment from the releases of mercury.