Africa Update Vol. 26
Welcome to the latest edition of Africa Update! We've got the Nigerian space program, trans-African highways, online therapy in Kenya, why the Sahara is bad for infant mortality, and more.
A stunning shot of Malindi pier by Peter Ndung'u
West Africa: In Cameroon, Anglophone separatists have been attacking children who attend government schools in an attempt to force the government to negotiate with them. Political space is closing in Equatorial Guinea with the closure of a prominent human rights NGO. Here's a good background read on Equatorial Guinea's oil-fueled politics. In Nigeria, the descendants of enslaved people are still fighting for justice and social inclusion. This was an interesting history of Nigeria's space program. Senegal's sutura culture of privacy and modesty both constrains queer women and gives them space to pursue relationships.
Central Africa: Rwanda has lots of women in national decision-making positions, but their representation drops at more local levels of government. In Uganda, paralegals are giving legal aid to trans people who have been arrested for not expressing a gender identity that matches their IDs. Burundi has lost another independent media house with the forced closure of the BBC's local bureau. The DRC's dilapidated phone network briefly made it a hotspot for early mobile phone adoption in the 1990s.
Map of forced displacement via the Africa Center
East Africa: This was an informative thread on the challenges of getting access to government IDs in Kenya. In Nairobi, "informal housing" often includes multi-story apartment buildings, not just shacks. One year after Eritrea's peace agreement with Ethiopia, the borders are closed again and little domestic reform has occurred. I didn't know that one of Somalia's major export products is dried lemons, mostly sent to the UAE for cleaning supplies. Salaries for Somali army officers take up fully 20% of the country's defense budget.
Southern Africa: South African has given women in customary marriages the right to inherit property. Harare is running out of water. 3000 students in Mozambique are back in school after the government lifted a ban on pregnant people attending school.
Perhaps one day we'll be able to drive across the continent on completed highways (via Facts about Africa)
Economics: Six West African countries have committed to adopting a common currency, the eco, by 2020, but the underlying differences in their economies may make this difficult. What can be done to get more investment flowing to local African entrepreneurs instead of expats? This was an interesting long read about the state of the Nigerian banking sector. Uganda's high unemployment rates come from a lack of decent formal sector jobs, not low skilled job-seekers. Here's all you need to know about industrial policy in Kenya.
Health: In the DRC, high school students with Ebola have still found ways to take their final exams. A corrupt procurement process left Kenyan hospitals saddled with expensive equipment they didn't need, even as they were short of basic supplies. Kenya's national census is counting intersex people for the first time this year. Wazi is a new online therapy program based in Kenya. In Ghana, the national health insurance system is being undermined by the fact that the government rarely pays hospitals on time. Less than half of Kampala's toilet waste gets routed into water treatment facilities.
Rose Mutiso, Mawazo's CEO, recording the introduction to the Nairobi Ideas Podcast
Environment: Check out the Mawazo Institute's new Nairobi Ideas Podcast about African conservation leaders. Here's how protecting Africa's elephants could help to slow climate change. These Kenyan activists successfully fought back against a plan to build a coal-fired power plant that the country didn't really need. Dust from the Sahara substantially increases infant mortality across West Africa, because small particulates damage babies' lungs.
Arts + literature: Check out Dave Evans' project to read one book from each African country this year. African Storybook offers free downloads of kids' books which are customizable in various African languages. Don't miss this new book on women's activism in Africa.
If you're in Nairobi later this month, don't miss the Macondo Literary Festival!
Conferences + scholarships: Submit your papers on economics in Africa to the Centre for the Study of African Economies by October 18. Here's why all academic conferences should be in Ethiopia. Apply to be a visiting fellow at the African Studies Centre Leiden. The Ibrahim Leadership Fellowship gives young Africans the chance to work in various international organizations. Chevening scholarships for MA study in the UK are open until November 5. Female scientists in Africa should apply to Science by Women's visiting fellows program in Spain by September 30.
Cheers,
Rachel