Africa

What Is Mali Telling Africa?

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

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

ABUJA (IDN) – The headlines, especially in the Western press, suggest that Africa is back again in the news for the wrong reasons.

Misery has really never been too far away, but in the last few years, foreign journalists looking for stories of deaths, diseases and destruction on the continent have had to find another hobby, the trendiest of which is Trumpoline, a riveting show from the White House.

With violent conflicts receding, more orderly transfer of power, better business climate and growing prosperity, Africa has been rising.

: Africa & ME Editor; OPINION; 28 August 2020

Photo: At least two officers and up to 21 civilians were killed in a clash between Nigerian security forces and members of the separatist group the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the city of Enugu, Nigeria on August 23. (Left) A video showing a civilian carrying a stick in defence as gunshots are heard in the background. (Right) A member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with a gunshot wound after the clash. (Source: Twitter.)

Biafra Politicians Advocate Comprehensive Review of Nigeria's Constitution

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Leaders of integrated associations and politicians, mostly from the Eastern region of Nigeria, are calling for a thorough constitutional review that will incorporate the diverse ethno-political interests and also offer equal representation in the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGR). Several archival reports made available and different interviews conducted by IDN vividly show rising tensions and the lack of strategic foresight in the current approach towards national integration before 2023, the end of President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 August 2020

Photo: A child being given polio oral vaccination. Credit: WHO Regional Office for Africa

In a Historic Move, Africa Eradicates Devastating Polio

By Ronald Joshua

GENEVA | BRAZZAVILLE (IDN) – While COVID-19 pandemic is playing havoc with the global economy and a frantic search continues for a vaccine, thanks to a concerted campaign of immunization, Africa is free of a highly infectious disease which mainly affects children under 5 years of age. It is a significant development marking the eradication of the second virus from the face of the continent since smallpox 40 years ago.

"Today is a historic day for Africa," said Professor Rose Gana Fomban Leke, Chairperson of the African Regional Certification Commission for Polio eradication (ARCC), which has declared the region free of polio,

: Ronald Joshua; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 August 2020

Image: Part of the Cover of the UNDP South Africa report.

UNDP South Africa Analyses the Horrendous Impact of COVID-19

By Devendra Kamarajan

JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic will push South Africa's overall GDP down by 7.9% in 2020 leading to major setbacks in addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality, the government's development priorities, according to new research by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The study expects the economy to recover slowly through 2024.

: Devendra Kamarajan; THE WORLD; Africa; 25 August 2020

Photo courtesy: 247 News Around the World

US-Trained Colonel Called 'True Force' Behind Mali Coup

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been ousted from power, removed by troops unwilling to keep up a bloody fight against jihadists and religious extremists who have been gaining ground while charges of corruption against the government continue to pile up.

The “mutinous” army had been taking heavy casualties in the seemingly endless fighting despite vast quantities of international support, training and intelligence pouring in from the U.S., and France. The United Nations alone spends $11.2 billion annually on a peacekeeping mission with 16,600 peacekeepers.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 24 August 2020

Photo: In Kaya, Burkina Faso, 27-year-old Mariam Sawadogo serves a meal to her family with food from the World Food Programme (WFP). Credit: WFP/Mahamady Ouedraogo.

Burkina Faso Faces ‘Alarming Deterioration’ in Food Security as It Grapples with COVID-19

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – Two United Nations agencies have warned that about 3.3 million people in Burkina Faso are facing acute food insecurity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) cited alarming new data, and the World Food Programme (WFP), stressed that “urgent and sustained action” is needed to address the worsening food and nutrition situation throughout the landlocked West African country.

: Radwan Jakeem; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 August 2020

Photo: With the lockdown to fend off the spread of COVID-19, many Southern Africans, have lost their jobs and switched to vending on the streets where they engage in cat and mouse games with police enforcing lockdown rules. Consequently, the game to survive still remains tough for most Africans as they battle to support their children amid schools closure. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo | INPS-IDN

COVID-19 Derails Education in Southern Africa

By Jeffrey Moyo

MUSINA, South Africa (IDN) – His three teenage children play home-made paper ball on the dusty streets of Musina, exercise books scattered on the veranda of their rented home in the South African border town with Zimbabwe. Yet Gerald Gava, the children's 47-year old father, lies on a reed mat spread on the veranda, apparently with nothing to do after he stopped working three months ago as the lockdown took toll on the construction company that employed him.

Gava, who is a migrant from Zimbabwe, said even his children have had to remain home as schools also shut down, thanks to the coronavirus that has pounded the entire globe.

: Jeffrey Moyo; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 August 2020

Feminism in The Spotlight at South African Book Fair 2020

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – “Feminism: Our Bodies, Our Truths” will take centre stage at the upcoming South African Book Fair taking place virtually from September 11-13 at the culmination of South Africa’s National Book Week.

Featured speakers include Mishumo Maduma, Terry-Ann Adams, Jen Thorpe and Anelile Gibixego in discussion with Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele on how women’s bodies filter their life experiences and can be tools for conformity or resistance.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 18 August 2020

Photo: Gorilla in the Ebo Forest, located in Southwestern Cameroon. San-Diego Global Zoo

Cameroon Decides to Save Last Intact Forest in Central Africa

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Good news is rare for those toiling to save the environment, but environmentalists could finally share the excitement of hard-won success.

The government of Cameroon announced on August 14 it was cancelling plans to log some 170,000 acres of the Ebo Forest, home to hundreds of rare plant and animal species, including the tool-using Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee, the western gorilla and giant frogs.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Forests, desertification, land degradation & biodiversity; 17 August 2020

Never-Ending Russia-US-Africa Geopolitical Triangular Games

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Instead of concentrating on developing its newly-established strategy for Africa, Russia has locked horns with United States over its funding for educational programmes, media and NGOs.

Russia has also accused foreign players of adopting neocolonial tendencies and approaches in dealing with Africa, according to analytical reviews and observations by diplomats, policy experts and researchers.