In The News

Africa’s Broadcasting Revolution: African Business

David Thomas July 30, 2019
Africa’s young audiences are embracing tried-and-true formulas for television programming from elsewhere in the world – “homegrown, home-produced content telling stories about themselves – it’s the same the world over,” as suggested by an executive of TVC Communications, as reported by David Thomas for African Business Magazine. Popular shows include Wake Up Nigeria and The Bachelor in South...

Ebola Outbreak as Global Emergency: STAT

Helen Branswell July 19, 2019
Public health providers have battled Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for a year, with cases also reported in Uganda and near Rwanda, and the World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency, the fifth such declaration in its history. A strategic plan to stem the outbreak could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. “The declaration, which critics have contended is...

Ebola Crisis: Council on Foreign Relations

Claire Felter June 20, 2019
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo officially started in August of 2018, in the northeastern regions of the country bordering Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan. Claiming more than 1,300 deaths, with cases doubling in the past three months, the Ebola crisis is escalating but remains second place to the 2014-2016 outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people. The World Health...

Putin Muscles His Way Into Africa: CNBC

Frederick Kempe June 19, 2019
The Central African Republic is a recent example of how Russian President Vladimir Putin is investing human resources and muscle for access to natural resources and trade deals in Africa. Africa is poised to represent 25 percent of the world’s labor force by 2050 with its 54 countries having the potential to be an influential voting bloc in the United Nations. The continent has an abundance of...

Global Poverty Reduction Slows: Brookings

Homi Kharas, Kristofer Hamel, Martin Hofer and Baldwin Tong June 12, 2019
The bulk of the world’s extremely poor population lives in Africa, but rates worldwide have slowed. The achievements of Asian economies like India cannot be denied, yet as more people escape poverty, life becomes harder for those left behind – this is known as the base effect. In 2015, the United Nations established goals for the year 2030, and Africa lags on ending extreme poverty, defined as...

Sudan Military Tries to Clear Protests: Al Jazeera

June 4, 2019
Sudan security forces have tried to clear a camp of protesters who have persisted for months with demands for civilian rule. At least nine people have died. Most of the protesters have cleared the camp and military vehicles are blocking their return. Protest organizers are now calling for a campaign of civil disobedience in the quest for civilian rule. “The sit-in has become the focal point of...

Sudan’s Protesters Expect Civilian Rule: Economist

June 3, 2019
Sudanese protestors have railed against internal turnover in government power, as in Awad Ibn Auf, former vice president and defense chief who briefly replaced the recently ousted Omar al-Bashir following his official resignation. Like his predecessor, Auf has long been the subject of international scrutiny for complicity in the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region underway since 2003. “Faced with a...