African countries - The African Mirror

Sep

2023

Food insecurity in Africa should be overcome in 5 years -AfDB head

PROGRAMS supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in over 30 African countries have helped produce some $12 billion worth of food, and the bank’s $25 billion objective is "well on track," AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said on Friday. "As far as I'm concerned, we shouldn't be talking about food security in Africa more than five years from now. There's no reason for it," he told Reuters. "We have the technology and the financing to do it at scale." Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, one of the world's top grain exporters, sent tremors through global grain markets, threatening food…

Jul

2023

By LUCY GITHUGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

State of the news: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa push African countries high up the media trust ladder, TikTok advancing rapidly

MEDIA FREEDOM

ACCORDING to the recently released Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, Kenya has the second-highest level of trust in the news of all countries included in the global report. At 63%, Kenyans' trust in the news is remarkably high, surpassed only by Finland (at 69%). Kenyan commercial TV outlets are that country's most trusted news sources, alongside the Daily Nation newspaper and its associated website, according to the report. Portugal ranked third with a score of 58%, while Nigeria and South Africa tied for fourth place with 57% each, according to the twelfth edition of the report, published by the…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Nine new African countries to receive millions of malaria vaccines, GAVI says

HEALTH

GLOBAL vaccine alliance GAVI said 12 countries in Africa would receive 18 million doses of malaria vaccine over the next two years, expanding access to the shots to nine new countries in the region. Malaria remains one of the continent's deadliest diseases, killing nearly half a million children each year under the age of five. In 2021, Africa accounted for about 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). "At least 28 African countries have expressed interest in receiving the RTS,S (malaria) vaccine," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a media…

Jul

2023

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Prosperity, economic freedoms on the rise in Africa

NEWS

AFRICAN countries that suffered some of the worst and longest civil wars are recording the biggest moves in a freedom index, with the continent logging the biggest growth in a key prosperity score in close to 30 years. The American think tank, Atlantic Council, shows Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia registered the biggest score changes in a global ranking of free and prosperous countries, between 1995 and 2022. Of the three, Sierra Leone and Rwanda made the most significant gains in their freedom scores according to Atlantic Council's Prosperity that Lasts: The 2023 Freedom and Prosperity Indexes. Sierra Leone ranked…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Five questions for African countries that want to build climate-resilient health systems

ENVIRONMENT

EVERY day seems to bring a new headline about a devastating climate event. African countries aren’t spared. A “rain bomb” in South Africa. Flooding in Nigeria. Cyclones battering Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Madagascar. Drought in Kenya. These events have enormous health and social effects, among them death, injuries, malnutrition and diseases (infectious and non-communicable). This all puts tremendous pressure on countries’ health systems, both in terms of caring for those affected and because facilities like hospitals and clinics are vulnerable to damage and destruction. Authors BOB MASH, Distinguished Professor, Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Stellenbosch University CHRISTIAN LUEME…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

China’s population grew older and richer: policy lessons for some African countries

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

FOR decades China was the world’s most populous country. But that’s changed. Its population has peaked, and is now falling. The country has achieved high levels of economic growth for four decades, reducing poverty and raising per capita incomes. Between 1978 and 2018 China’s economy grew by an average of 9.8 per cent per annum. Today it is the second biggest economy in the world after the US. Author LAUREN JOHNSTON, Senior Researcher, South African Institute of International Affairs and Associate Professor at the China Studies Centre, University of Sydney China’s demographic profile has played a key role in its…

Jun

2023

By MELISSA WANJIRU-MWITA

Kenya at 60: how the British used street names to show colonial power

LIFESTYLE

PLACE names, along with other urban symbols, were used as a tool of control over space in many African countries during the colonial period. This strategy was epitomised by the British, who applied it in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya from the late 1800s. Very few African names were used on the urban landscape. This was a strategy to actively alienate the native Africans, who had little or no say in the city’s affairs. Spatially, colonial street names dominated the central part of the city, while African names were used mainly in the peripheral residential neighbourhoods. Author MELISSA WANJIRU-MWITA,…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Being queer in Africa: the state of LGBTIQ+ rights across the continent

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

IN recent years several African countries have decriminalised same-sex relationships. But they’re not representative of the continent. In fact, queer rights at times appear to be eroding in much of the continent, with Kenya and Uganda most recently in the news for harsh laws and violence against members of the LGBTIQ+ community. We asked sociologist and queer studies scholar Zethu Matebeni five questions. Author ZETHU MATEBENI, South African Research Chair in Sexualities, Genders and Queer Studies, University of Fort Hare How would you describe the state of LGBTIQ+ rights? The state of LGBTIQ+ rights on the continent could be described…

May

2023

By CONRAD ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

Can Music, Art, and Religion accelerate intra-Africa trade?

NEWS

WITH its increasing emphasis on music, art, storytelling and religion as unifying factors among 54 African countries, it is anticipated that the Africa Continental Free Trade Area-the world's largest single market will be implemented more quickly. As the continent gears up for this year's Africa Day celebrations on May 25th, several organisations are hosting events around these themes to appreciate diverse cultures and languages and holding online conversations on the role of faith in fostering social and economic integration. Africa Day is an event that signifies the establishment of the African Union and honours the continent's pursuit of unity. The…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

African scientists are working to pool data that decodes diseases – a giant step

HEALTH

INFECTIOUS disease outbreaks in African countries are, unfortunately, all too common. Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Uganda; Marburg virus in Guinea or Equatorial Guinea; cholera in Malawi; malaria and tuberculosis are among them. These diseases do not respect human-made or porous borders. So it’s essential that scientists in Africa are able to generate and share critical data on the pathogens in time to inform public-health decisions. Authors ALAN CHRISTOFFELS, Director South African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western Cape SOFONIAS KIFLE TESSEMA, Program Lead for Pathogen Genomics at the Africa CDC Genomic sequencing technologies are…