In The News

Israeli Surgeons Helping Swaziland in Drive to Curb HIV

Craig Timberg October 24, 2007
A series of studies conducted in the past several years finds that circumcised men are 60 percent less likely to contract HIV than their uncircumcised counterparts. In response to these results, Israeli doctors, well-versed in the procedure, reach out to areas afflicted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In countries such as Swaziland, with the world’s highest reported rate of HIV infection, the problem...

Burkina Faso: Cotton Producers Celebrate WTO Ruling Against US Subsidies

October 17, 2007
A new ruling by the World Trade Organization condemns the US system of agricultural subsidies to cotton farmers and could lead to sanctions costing billions, if the payments are not terminated. Many Africans celebrate the ruling; according to estimates by the aid group Oxfam, the end of American subsidies could drive the price of cotton up by as much as 14 percent, leading to a modest increase in...

Thanks China, Now Go Home: Buy-up of Zambia Revives Old Colonial Fears

Chris McGreal October 5, 2007
Sino-African trade has reached unprecedented levels, but the debate over its benefits for Africa rages on. Intent on acquiring natural resources to continue its blistering rate of economic growth, China turns to African nations for oil, metals and other valuables. In return, African governments, like the one in Zambia, receive huge aid and development packages and loans at below-market rates...

Why Africa Fears Western Medicine

Harriet A. Washington August 14, 2007
Africa has a history of Western doctors who claim to provide health care while in reality “administrating deadly agents.” The most infamous example is Wouter Basson, who killed hundreds through injecting poisons, but was never convicted. More recently, a Libyan court convicted a foreign physician and five nurses of infecting children with AIDS, before releasing the providers to Bulgaria. Many...

Africa Struggles to Get on the Internet

Ron Nixon August 6, 2007
Four years ago, the firm Terracom signed a contract with the Rwandan government to provide 300 schools with internet access. Rwandan officials had planned on equipping schools with the internet as a way to modernize the rural economy. But as of mid-July, only one third of the schools had been connected. That rate is better than that for Africa as a whole, with only 4 percent of the continent...

Kenyan Farmers’ Fate Caught Up in US Aid Rules

Celia W. Dugger August 2, 2007
US legislators debate a massive farm bill – estimated at more than $260 billion – which will fund loans, subsidies, conservation and many other agriculture activities over the next five years. The Bush administration has proposed allowing the purchase of up to $300 million worth of food in poor countries to quicken response times during times of emergency. The US often provides food aid to Africa...

In Africa, Mortgages Boost an Emerging Middle Class

Michael M. Phillips July 26, 2007
A growing middle class in Africa requires housing, but political and economic instability often contribute to shortages. The wealthy can pay cash for homes, but financing home purchases is difficult in a country where only 16 percent of the population holds salaried jobs. In Zambia, the Lilayi project tackles the problem with a suburban development, funded by public and private investors, that...