September 27, 2023
Somalia: Somali Piracy, Once an Unsolvable Security Threat, Has Almost Completely Stopped. Here's Why
In 2011, pirates carried out 212 attacks in a vast area spanning Somali waters, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, actions that the World Bank said cost the world… Read more »
September 24, 2023
Southern Africa: Young People With Sexual, Gender Diversity At Higher Risk of Stopping HIV Treatment Because of Stigma, Harsh Laws
Ending the AIDS pandemic - particularly in eastern and southern Africa - cannot be achieved unless more resources are channelled to meet the needs of key vulnerable populations. Read more »
September 22, 2023
Sudan: Khartoum's Burning Tower - Architects On the Destruction of a City - and What It'll Take to Rebuild
There has been a continued escalation in fighting between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The destruction of the capital Khartoum continues - physically,… Read more »
September 20, 2023
Somalia: Somalia's Voice of Hope - a Tribute to Axmed Naaji, Legendary Singer and Trailblazing Composer
Somalis are natural-born critics, yet for over six decades Axmed Naaji Sacad (Ahmed Naji Sa'ad) was almost unanimously revered. A household name in urban Somalia, the popular… Read more »
September 18, 2023
Sudan: Genocide Fears in Darfur Are Attracting Little Attention - Have Nations Abandoned Their Responsibility to Protect Civilians?
Mass atrocities are once again plaguing the people of Darfur, Sudan, with talk of a genocide taking place. Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's New Urban School Meal Plan Is Ambitious - It Could Offer Lessons for Scaling Up
More than 250,000 children in public primary schools in Nairobi will receive regular subsidised school meals provided by the county government. The Dishi Na County programme is… Read more »
Uganda: Wild Animals Leave DNA On Plants, Making Them Easier to Track
The world is losing animals at an alarming rate due to habitat degradation, climate change and illegal human activities in the wildlife protected areas. In fact, it is estimated… Read more »
September 17, 2023
Uganda: Aging Uganda President Rides On the Memory of His Past Heroics
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni - Africa's fourth-longest-serving head of state in 2023 - has cemented his place in history. He brought an end to two tyrannies: in 1979 his… Read more »
September 14, 2023
Kenya: Kenya - Ongata Rongai Boom Town Destroyed Two Vital Rivers - New Study Flags a Major Health Risk
Over the past 10 years, Ongata Rongai, a satellite town on the edge of Kenya's capital, Nairobi, has experienced uncontrolled development and exponential population growth. Because… Read more »
September 13, 2023
Kenya: Kenyans Don't Trust the Courts - the Main Factors Behind This Trend
The international reputation of the Kenyan judiciary is running high following a raft of judicial reforms brought on by the 2010 constitution. The reforms, displays of judicial… Read more »
Ethiopia: Addis Ababa Faces Growing Climate Change Risks Like Heat, Drought and Floods, Study Warns
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, will likely face increased heatwaves, droughts and severe flooding over the next 67 years. These changes will pose risks to public health and… Read more »
September 12, 2023
Tanzania: President Hassan Is the Face of Tanzania's Reform Agenda. But She Needs to Carry the Country With Her
After two years in power, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has consolidated her political base, opened up the media space and increased the number of women in public appointments. Read more »
September 10, 2023
Somalia: AU Peacekeepers Are Leaving Somalia - What Needs to Happen to Keep the Peace
The phased withdrawal of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) began earlier this year and is scheduled to end in December 2024. Read more »
September 06, 2023
Ethiopia: Amhara People Are Being Portrayed As the Enemy - the Dangerous History of Ethnic Politics
The Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency on 4 August 2023 and sent the military into the Amhara region to engage the Fano, a local armed militia. Some suggested that… Read more »
August 29, 2023
East Africa: Landlocked Ethiopia Wants Better Sea Access - a Port Deal With Neighbours Could Benefit the Region
Ethiopia's access to the coast has occupied the minds of the country's rulers since time immemorial. This is because being landlocked undermines Ethiopia's ability to grow its… Read more »
August 24, 2023
Sudan: Sudan's Future Is Being Shaped By Guns and Money - Like Its Past
Like most contemporary wars, Sudan's war cannot be reduced to a contest between two sides. It is many other things, among them a gun class of constantly shifting coalitions of… Read more »
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Amhara Crisis - Abiy's Political Failures Threaten a Return to War
The federal government of Ethiopia declared a state of emergency in Amhara region on 4 August 2023. A special session of parliament endorsed this decision, placing the… Read more »
August 21, 2023
Kenya: Faith Kipyegon Lifts Gold - From Walking to School in Rural Kenya to Setting World Athletics Alight
All eyes are on Faith Kipyegon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. That's because the Kenyan 1,500 metre and 5,000 metre star broke three world records… Read more »
Kenya: Faith Kipyegon - From Walking to School in Rural Kenya to Setting World Athletics Alight
All eyes are on Faith Kipyegon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. That's because the Kenyan 1,500 metre and 5,000 metre star broke three world records… Read more »
August 16, 2023
Uganda: World Bank Freezes Loans to Uganda Because of Anti-Gay Laws. but It Doesn't Mean It's Becoming a Human Rights Watchdog
Many people may be tempted to view the World Bank's recent announcement that it will freeze new loans to Uganda because of the country's vicious anti-LGBTIQ+ law as a harbinger of… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya and the U.S. Are Negotiating a Trade Deal That Could Be a Model for Africa
The US and Kenya announced a trade and investment partnership in July 2022. Talks have been progressing on the way forward in nine areas, including agriculture, anti-corruption,… Read more »
August 15, 2023
South Sudan: South Sudan Is Gearing Up for Its First Election - 3 Things It Must Get Right
The people of South Sudan have not exercised the right to choose their leaders since the referendum that secured independence from Sudan in 2011. Instead, they have suffered… Read more »
August 08, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Political Dialogue Is a Welcome Sign of Democracy At Work - If Both Sides Understand Their Roles
Since Kenya's presidential election in August 2022, the new government has been in conflict with the opposition. Read more »
August 09, 2023
Kenya: Kenya Is Going Digital to Boost Tax Revenue - There Are Lessons to Learn From Other African Countries
Many African tax authorities have weak capacity to raise revenue. From 1990 to 2020, sub-Saharan African countries on average collected only about 12%-15% of GDP as taxes, a much… Read more »
Kenya: The Fast, Furious, and Brutally Short Life of an African Male Lion
The death of a lion in Kenya's picturesque savannas rarely tugs at people's hearts, even in a country where wildlife tourism is a key pillar of the nation's economy. But when one… Read more »