EXPLAINED
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.
South Sudan’s Crisis Deepens: 5.5 Million Face ‘Severe Food Insecurity’, And In May Alone 60,000 More Fled Fighting
In all, some 1.9 million South Sudanese are living as refugees in neighbouring countries, while another 2 million are internally displaced.
There’s A Deadly Conflict Tearing Nigeria Apart And, No, It’s Not Boko Haram
In Kaduna State alone, between 10,000 and 20,000 people are estimated to have died in communal conflict since 1980.
HACKING A CONTINENT
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.
Rice, Onion Seeds And A Senegalese ‘Peasant’ Farmer Leader With Mojo: Sowing Renewal In Rural Africa
Many villages are witnessing an influx back from both The Gambia and Senegalese cities.
Sickle Cell Childhood Mortality In Africa As High As 90%: ‘Brewed Blood’ Could Help Fight The Sickness
Over 300,000 babies with sickle cell disease are born every year; most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
New Vaccine Against Diarrheal Disease That Kills 600 Children A Day Shows Great Promise In Niger Trial
The new vaccine against rotavirus – the most common cause of death from diarrhea in children under age 5 – appears to be a practical way to millions in the future.
NEXT FRONTIERS
Djibouti Plays The West Off Against The Far East, As China Makes Smart Regional Moves
China will pay $100M rent annually for its military base – more than what the US and France pay, and has turned Djibouti into region’s securest and biggest port.
An Open Letter To Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg: Here’s How You Could Spend Your Money Better In Africa
The Free Basics and Express Wi-fi initiatives may ignore real transformational change by only helping people to function within their current system, rather than working to transform it.
Blue Economy: Africa Could Make Billions From Its Oceans And Seas – If It Can Be Smart About It
Only now are mainland East African countries beginning to look beyond land for the “golden goose” to fuel the coming decades as they move to become middle-income economies.
MYTH AND REALITY
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.
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.
From January To End May Italy Got 60,000 Sea Arrivals, Up From 41,000 Last Year. Do Migrants Really Dream Of Europe?
The evidence suggests Europe is often the default destination rather than the intended one.
FROM AFRICAPEDIA
Africapedia
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
Game Theory And China’s Ivory Ban: Scenarios That Could Save Africa’s Elephants – Or Lead To Their Extinction
We employed reasoning informed by game theory to figure out whether elephant poaching is likely to increase or decrease under each China policy scenario in the future
DISSENTING VOICES
From Mobutu To Kabila, On Its 57th Anniversary DR Congo Is Paying A Heavy Price For Its Corrupt Autocrats
The DRC will mark 57 years of independence on June 30, and it's an anniversary many would like to forget...it is perilously close to being a failed state.
Disposable Africans And Migration’s Untold Horror Stories: Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea
Many people give up their time to welcome the people who have been rescued, but when the boat arrives many volunteers take selfies in front of the hungry and disoriented people.
Zambia Continues Slide Towards Authoritarianism, As IMF Throws In $1.2Bn To Prop Up Cash-Strapped State
Speaker of Zambia parliament suspended 48 opposition legislators because they missed President Edgar Lungu’s state of the nation address.
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
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
‘In Praise Of Defeat’ And ‘Tattooed Memory’: In New Translations, We Learn The Fine Things About Moroccan Identity And Culture
Multilingualism is threatened…poetry is one way to tune the instruments of the soul, explore the sensuality of human bodies, and respond to terror and injustice.
