Africa

Photo source: International Centre for Investigative Reporting

Extremist Groups' Attacks on Civilians in Niger Condemned

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — “Multiple senseless attacks” on civilian populations by armed groups in the Tahoua and Tilabery regions of Niger were condemned by world leaders and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) which noted the recent killings of some 200 civilians including children in the violence.

In the last ten days alone, three attacks in Banibangou, Tahoua and Abala, near the West African nation of Mali, also destroyed productive infrastructure such as granaries, jeopardizing livelihoods in some of the most vulnerable regions of the country, the humanitarian group reported.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 29 March 2021

Photo: Africa CDC Director Dr. John Nkengasong in a panel discussion at the Global Health Security Agenda Ministerial Meeting in Kampala, Uganda. Source: Wikipedia.

Relaxed Public Health Measures Trigger New Wave of COVID-19 in Africa

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Africa is experiencing a second coronavirus wave more severe than the first, according to a worrying new study published on March 24 by the medical journal The Lancet.

The Lancet said one reason for the rise was that some countries were implementing fewer public health measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing, probably from adherence fatigue and economic necessity.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 29 March 2021

Photo: A collage of pictures of Azu Ishiekwene, the writer, and Nigeria's Channel TV showing the first Nigerian being vaccinated.

My Vaccination Story

By Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — It wasn’t planned. I was seeing off my neighbour and friend on March 18 evening when one of the officers of our estate residents’ association called out to me.

He was in knickers and shirtsleeves, with his right hand clutching his left shoulder. “I’ve just been vaccinated,” he said. “Would you like me to put your name forward for it tomorrow?”

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 25 March 2021

Photo: Women Vision Workshop in Malawi. Source: Empower.

Development Needs to Come from The People

By Jones Ntaukira

KAPITA, Malawi (IDN) — Most development agencies fail because they don’t listen to the people and end up imposing projects on people. This is an important lesson I learned over 10 years working as a development worker here with Empower Malawi.

I joined the Empower Malawi team in 2010 as a fresh young graduate with no experience in development work. A scientist at heart, equipped with theories, hope and confidence amassed from the long lecture hours, I was eager to get down to work. I cared less where and how. I just wanted to work and enjoy myself.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Africa; 24 March 2021

Photo: Workers at a Chinese shoe-making factory in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Credit: Lin Qi

The Story of China’s Development Miracle

Viewpoint by Siddharth Chatterjee

UN Resident Coordinator* in China Siddharth Chatterjee, formerly the Resident Coordinator in Kenya, considers how China’s admirable rise can provide valuable lessons for developing nations looking to improve livelihoods for their citizens. The 'story' first appeared on UN News on March 20, 2021.

BEIJING | GUANGZHOU (IDN) — Arriving in Guangzhou as a first-time visitor to China, I could not help but think of former U.S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's description of what he saw as an underdeveloped provincial city in the 1980s.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 March 2021

Photo: The late Congo opposition candidate Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas. Source: France4

Congo Opposition Candidate Dies of COVID-19

By Lia Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Another African leader has lost the fight for his life—this time in a private hospital in Brazzaville, where he was last seen lifting up his oxygen mask and warning his supporters that he is “fighting death.”

Family members of Guy Brice Parfait Kolelas—the leading opposition candidate in Congo-Brazzaville’s current presidential election—were unable to bring him to France in time for treatment of COVID-19 while voting is underway.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 23 March 2021

Image: The "Sputnik V" vaccine. CC BY 4.0

Russia's Sputnik V Enters Africa's Orbit

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — More and more African countries are registering Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) said in a statement that Angola, Djibouti and the Republic of Congo (DRC) have officially authorized Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V for mass use to fight the COVID-19 in their respective countries. It is health assistance aimed at stopping the further spread of the pandemic on the continent.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 19 March 2021

Photo: Screenshot of President Magufuli's last public appearance in Dodoma while launching a multi-million bus terminus. Source: Online Community KE YouTube

Tanzanian Populist President Dies, Leaving A Mixed Legacy

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Flags are flying at half-mast in Tanzania over the passing of President John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, the country’s populist leader who passed away in the port city of Dar es Salaam on March 17 following his hospitalization for heart complications. The President was 61 years of age.

Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced the leader’s death on national television. Hassan is expected to be sworn in to succeed Magufuli and complete his second five-year term which he had just started after winning elections late last year. She will be Tanzania’s first female head of state.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 March 2021

Photo: Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mohammed Babagana Monguno. Credit: thecable.ng

A National Security Adviser Lost in Translation in Nigeria

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Interview magazine based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — Last week, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Mohammed Babagana Monguno, stripped the government bare in public only to try hiding the ugly sight with fig leaves shortly after. The pathetic damage control didn’t work. Monguno, a retired major general, told the BBC Hausa Service in an interview that billions of naira voted by Buhari’s government to fight insurgency could not be accounted for.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 March 2021

Photo: WTO Chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Source: WTO

WTO Chief Faces First Test Over Generic Corona Drug Patent

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The first African woman to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is facing her first test of leadership as the leaders of poor and rich nations spar over the rights to generic versions of the COVID-19 vaccine, currently held by the rich nations.

In the current debate, over 80 developing countries led by South Africa and India are demanding a waiver of patent rights in order to boost the production of COVID-19 vaccines for poor nations. Blocking them are the richer members of the world trade group.