EXPLAINED
Africa Urbanising Fast, But We Might Be Wrong About Why It’s Happening. Here’s What We’ve Neglected
In 23 sub-Saharan African countries, urbanisation would have happened without a single person moving from a rural area to an urban one.
If You’ve Noticed That Sudan Strongman Bashir Is Chill These Days, Here Is The Reason Why
Sudan pays $40,000 a month to American lobbyist Squire Patton Boggs mainly to help make the case against sanctions.
Damned If You Fish, Damned If You Don’t: All The Choices On Lake Victoria Are Bad
Africa’s largest lake has been affected by years of mismanagement, environmental changes, and a burgeoning population.
HACKING A CONTINENT
The Seed And Gun: Farming Becomes The New Frontline In Boko Haram War
The fate of seeds and tractors could be a more important measure of the success against extremism than the tally of insurgents killed or territory recaptured.
Give Community, Family A Place And Watch School Children Win: Lessons From Nairobi Slums
Parent and community partnerships are not only crucial for student achievement, but they can also narrow the performance gap between children in high and low income settings.
Could An African Passport Bring To Life The Dreams Of Nkrumah, Senghor And Touré?
It’s not unusual to witness instances of humiliation at visa offices. Sometimes they shout instructions at visa applicants. Sometimes they throw documents back at them.
How 50 Medical Experts Separated Kenyan Conjoined Twins In 23-Hour Surgery
Other than South Africa, very few successful separations have been performed in sub-Saharan Africa.
Antibodies From A Survivor Found To Stop Spread Of Ebola
Lab tests using mice and ferrets found that the vaccine effectively halted the spread of Ebola.
NEXT FRONTIERS
Zambia’s Lungu Says He’s No Dictator And Doesn’t Want To Be One, But He’s Turning Into A Mugabe Very Fast
Lungu took advantage of a fire at a popular Lusaka market to declare a state of emergency, that gives him power to suspend Parliament, restrict freedom of movement, and impose a curfew.
Al-Shabaab Attacks, A Minister Dies, Opposition Leader Taken Ill, An Upset President: The Rocky Road To Kenya’s Elections
Last Friday night, nine people were beheaded in a village in the Kenyan coastal county of Lamu, in the latest of a slew of attacks allegedly carried out by jihadist militants.
Capturing Next Crop Of Elite With Soft Power: China Tops US And UK As Destination For Anglophone African Students
The US and UK host around 40,000 African students a year. China surpassed that number in 2014. In 2015 China pledged to provide 30,000 scholarships to African students by 2018.
MYTH AND REALITY
Africa Urbanising Fast, But We Might Be Wrong About Why It’s Happening. Here’s What We’ve Neglected
In 23 sub-Saharan African countries, urbanisation would have happened without a single person moving from a rural area to an urban one.
Africa’s Return Migrants: Myth And Reality About Their Contributions To The Continent
One insinuation was that the state of politics in Africa is so dismal that even the Gambia’s Adama Barrow, a former Argos security guard, can become a president.
65 Million People Worldwide Displaced By War, Violence, Or Persecution. What Can Be Good About That?
In 2016 more than 55% of refugees came from just three countries, but South Sudan has replaced Somalia as one of those countries.
FROM AFRICAPEDIA
Africapedia
How An African Passport Could Answer The ‘African Predicament’: That Of Independence Without Freedom
Visa and immigration officials at the gates of major embassies seem to have great talent and insatiable penchant for choreographic, inane demonstrations of power.
How Tax Evasion And Dirty Money Drains Africa, In Two Charts
Africa loses far more through tax fraud, tax evasion and illicit financial flows than it receives in aid and foreign direct investment.
Uncertainty Across The Red Sea: Qatar’s Conflict With Its Neighbours Sets The Horn Of Africa On Edge
Qatar had been a generous donor to Eritrea. UAE and Saudi Arabia have been using the Eritrean port of Assab in their war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. The recent upheavals appear to have fallen well for Ethiopia
DISSENTING VOICES
Africa, Trump And Why The World Might One Day Thank Him For His ‘Madness’ – If…
If Trump’s proposed cuts to the State Department and USAID hold, the US will be less of a presence in Africa..perhaps it will be that Africans, will realise they have to take more initiative on their own.
The CFA Franc Is A Colonial Relic And Symbol Of French Monetary Imperialism In Africa That Needs To End
The West African nations in the CFA zone are required to deposit 50% of their foreign exchange reserves in a special French Treasury “operating account”. At one point it was 100%!
Why African Fans Love European Football: A Senegalese Perspective
While local Senegalese league teams play in almost deserted stadia, audiences crowd around televisions to follow the latest matches of the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, or the pan-European UEFA Champions League.
ANANSI
Polio Is Down 99% Yes, But Then There’s DR Congo And Other Conflict-Troubled Places
There were only 37 reported polio cases last year – that’s largely down to courageous health workers who have defied militant attacks to vaccinate populations in dangerous places.
WHAT ARE YOU READING MOST
BOOK CORNER
Africa’s Return Migrants: Myth And Reality About Their Contributions To The Continent
One insinuation was that the state of politics in Africa is so dismal that even the Gambia’s Adama Barrow, a former Argos security guard, can become a president.
South Sudan: A New History For A New Nation, Starting From 11,000 Years Ago
Along the way, we are introduced to figures of significance in the history of the country that go beyond the usual list of coup leaders and heads of factions in the Sudan People’s Liberation Army.
Chicken And Egg In Africa – Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World Of Fast Fashion And Second-Hand Clothes
An exposition of the entwined economies of clothes’ production in Asia, over-consumption and clothing waste in Europe and the US, and clothes’ afterlife in Africa’s second-hand markets.
Europeans Who Don’t Like African Migrants Should Thank Drought. It Has Dramatically Slowed Down Their Flight
In 2015, Eritreans, Sudanese and Somalis made up a significant proportion of arrivals to Italy via the Mediterranean, now the prolonged drought conditions have depleted the resources they would need to cross borders.
Nothing Going On: In Africa If You Want To Be Rich, Create A Rebel Group, Church Or An NGO
“Today only a few Africans are proud to be African and that is the actual problem we face” – director Arnold Aganze
