In The News

Forbes: Oil and Violence in Niger Delta Have Global Impact

Terry Hallmark February 22, 2017
The Niger Delta Avengers have declared “all-out” war against the Nigerian government and oil interests, continuing a two-decades-long conflict in the Niger Delta. Profitable oil drilling has pitted the Nigerian government and multinational corporations including Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron against a rotating cast of opponents. Organized opposition surfaced in the 1990s, with protests, civil...

Brookings: Housing Africa

Vera Songwe February 21, 2017
As Africa’s population grows and moves to urban areas, one major challenge facing the continent will be housing. McKinsey estimates that by 2025, over 90 percent of young people in Africa will live in urban areas. Policymakers and the private sector must work to make millions of new housing units available and affordable. Vera Songwe, writing for Brookings, urges governments to work with the...

Sudan Tribune: Famine Declared in Parts of South Sudan

February 20, 2017
“War and a collapsing economy have left some 100,000 people starving in parts of South Sudan,” reports the government, United Nations agencies and the Sudan Tribune. “An additional one million people in the war-torn nation, the United Nations agencies projected, could be on the brink of famine.” As many as 5 million people in the north part of the country could be at risk by summer. The UN...

US AIDS Program in Africa: Entitlement" or Success?

Ryan Lenora Brown January 30, 2017
Drastic government reform was a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s campaign, and his actions are fulfilling that promise. His transition team for the US State Department disseminated questionnaires inquiring whether the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief was “worth the massive investment.” Since instituted the by George W. Bush in 2003, the program has contributed more than $72...

Trade Week Africa and the Continental Free Trade Area

Amy Copley December 7, 2016
Africa is not rejecting trade agreements. All 54 countries on the continent are projected to be in the Continental Free Trade Area, or CFTA, which “is shaping up to be the largest free trade area in the world in terms of the population it covers,” notes Amy Copley for the Brookings Institution. The African Union and UN groups continue negotiations, and analysts suggest that CFTA could increase...

Africa Unplugged

November 9, 2016
Two of three people in Africa lack access to electricity, and for the poor, connecting to an electricity grid is unfathomably expensive. Costs of solar panels have fallen dramatically in recent years, and off-grid solar systems are providing the sun-rich continent an inexpensive way to connect to power. New technologies allow residents of African communities the means to charge smartphones and...

Domino Effect...

David Gilbert October 27, 2016
South Africa, Burundi and Gambia have announced intentions to pull out of the International Criminal Court. “South Africa has a long and difficult history with human rights and many fear that this move could be an enormous setback for the country,” reports David Gilbert. “Legal experts worry the move will leave South Africa without the necessary tools to prevent the most heinous crimes taking...