Africa Update Vol. 12
Welcome to the latest edition of Africa Update! We've got vanilla hustlers in Madagascar, the missing money of the Ugandan police, illustrated female firsts in Kenya, scholarship opportunities for African students, and more. (Also, in case you're wondering what I've been up to, we've been busy welcoming our first cohort of PhD Scholars at the Mawazo Institute!)
Click over to r/MapPorn on Reddit to see this amazing map of African place names
West Africa: Gambia has suspended the death penalty for one year, in a first step towards eventual abolition. In Sierra Leone, Freetown is about to get its first female mayor since 1890. This was a very insightful article on Boko Haram as slave raiders, and the economic possibilities of the frontier zones of Nigeria and Cameroon. Nigerian senators receive a US$2000 monthly salary -- and US$37,500 monthly in expense payments. Nana Ama Asante has an interesting perspective on the slow progress and unfulfilled promises of Ghana's current president.
Central Africa: In the Central African Republic, sexual violence against men and boys is an "ignored" crime. Only 2% of all murders reported to the Ugandan police were solved over the last four years, possibly because 95% of all police stations are receiving little to no government funding. The RPF has released a remarkable transcript of Rwandan president Paul Kagame berating his ministers for their performance. In the DRC, a team of female lawyers are working to support victims of gender-based violence.
East Africa: Despite the popularity of mobile money in Kenya, an estimated 80% of all transactions still take place with cash. Don't miss this profile of the Mathare Social Justice Centre, which is doing important work documenting human rights abuses in Nairobi. Locally produced teargas in Uganda appears to be a step forward for industrialization and a step backwards for human rights. Sudan's soaring inflation is leading to long bank queues and shortages of essential medicines. Virtually no one in South Sudan has enough to eat. The Somali airforce currently has 170 staff, but zero planes.
Despite violence, Mogadishu continues to steadily grow (via Carlos Lopes)
Southern Africa: Massive increases in the price of vanilla have led to the rise of "vanilla hustler" gangs in Madagascar. Congratulations to Mamokgethi Phakeng, who is the second woman to become vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town!
Regional politics + economics: More than 40 African countries have signed the landmark Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement. Based on evidence from existing regional free trade areas in Africa, this should be good for business. Check out the interactive African Leadership Transitions tracker from Brookings. This was an incredibly detailed infographic on patterns of African refugee migration to Europe.
Map via the Humanitarian Information Unit at the US State Department
Women's rights: Know your African feminists with this excellent series of YouTube interviews. Here are some great ideas for highlighting the work of female scientists in Africa. A new RVI report looks at what it will take to strengthen women's political influence in Kenya. If you need some inspiration, check out Paukwa's list of 30 female firsts in Kenya, and OkayAfrica's list of 100 women who are shaping Africa. And remember that it should be possible to do better than this photo from the signing of AfCFTA, which doesn't include a single women among all the ministers and heads of state who signed.
Photo via Ken Opalo
Public health: Fake processed food is becoming an epidemic in urban Africa. A Kenyan hospital may be increasing the rates of respiratory diseases by burning medical waste in open pits. Also in Kenya, a new report finds that 70% of women who die in childbirth do so outside of doctors' office hours. This was an interesting post about three approaches to reducing Uganda's high rates of absenteeism among clinic staff. Have you heard about the hidden opioid crisis that's unfolding across Africa?
Literature: Don't miss James Murua's new African Literary Podcast. Check out loads of inspiration and resources to cite black women. Congratulations to the eight writers nominated for the shortlist for the Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2018!
The Brunel shortlist members
Language: South African researchers are working on new tools to improve the amount of online content available in isiZulu and isiXhosa. The government of Zimbabwe now requires that all student teachers speak three local languages beyond the one they may have grown up speaking. Les langues nationales peinent à s’imposer dans les écoles maliennes. Only 5% of Rwandan schoolkids have access to books in Kinyarwanda at home.
Scholarships: The Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester is offering six scholarships for MA courses. The Obama Foundation Scholars program will bring young leaders from around the world to study at the University of Chicago. The Centre for the Study of African Economies at Oxford has a new visiting fellows program.
Newsletters: African Arguments is launching a new (paid) newsletter which looks quite interesting. And if you want to hear even more from me, you should subscribe to the Mawazo Institute's newsletter for updates on our work, additional scholarship opportunities, and future events.
Cheers,
Rachel