West Africa

Officials and religious leaders are mobilizing to encourage the population to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The most populous country in Africa received nearly 4 million doses of this vaccine as part of the Covax unit in early March. Many vaccination centers have opened their doors in major cities across the country for people over the age of 70 and particularly vulnerable occupations. Despite a few disagreements, Nigerian politicians continue to promote vaccination against Covid-19, and religious authorities have an…

Ocean Viking, the boat from the SOS Mediterranean organization, is conducting a new rescue campaign in the central Mediterranean. At sea, the ship rescued 796 people from Libya to Europe in January and February. RFI embarks on this mission. Every day we receive the logbook from our special correspondent. "Please play a game with me," Amias asks me. The 9-year-old boy points to two painted boards on the floor. Wooden puck acts as pawns. Amias has been aboard the Ocean Viking for three days: he has already had the…

It is again authorized to make music, songs and dances in the liquor companies under a decree of the Governor of Dakar from 20 March. Activities that had been suspended for several months to combat the spread of coronavirus. The state of health disaster in Dakar and Thiès had already ended on Friday 19 March at midnight, with the majority of Covid-19 cases concentrated. Senegal has passed the 1,000-related death mark and 37,833 positive cases of the coronavirus pandemic. The tables at this Corniche des Almadies…

Despite a dying book and publishing sector in the country, "the literary re-entry of Mali" has tried every year for thirteen years to stimulate and question the industry. Literary cafes, debates and conferences were at the heart of the meetings this week. An exchange week that ended on Saturday, March 20 with an evening of prize giving.…

Unicef ​​and the Ministry of National Education are leading an information campaign for young people on hygienic management of menstruation. According to a survey, 21% of young people go to school every month in Burkina Faso and Niger because of their period, which has a negative impact on their school performance. During this campaign, young girls and boys learn to better understand the female genitals…

Amadou Mahtar Mbow celebrated his centenary at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar on Saturday, March 20th. Teacher, activist for independence, minister, director general of Unesco and president of the National Assembly under Abdoulaye Wade ... Personalities paid tribute on Saturday to the rich career of this wise man from the continent.…

This week, strong tensions erupted between Christian and Muslim communities in Ilorin, the capital of the state of Kwara, in central Nigeria. This crisis resulted in the closure of ten public schools. At the heart of the dispute is the ban on wearing the Islamic veil imposed on Muslim students in a dozen predominantly Christian schools in the city. Despite government intervention, eager to guarantee…

Academic and African media specialist Marie-Soleil Frère died on the night of 18 to 19 March. Research director, she taught journalism at the Free University of Brussels, as she did at the University of Ouagadougou. Author of several books, she focused in particular on the role of the media in the political development of French-speaking Africa.…

Since the first cases of Covid-19 appeared in the country in March 2020, young Burkinabè have transposed expressions linked to the pandemic into their daily lives. They had to develop a kind of resistance to a disease that had no vaccine and whose name alone sowed fear. Let us go to the discovery of these terms "covid", that is, linked to Covid-19.…

In Ghana, an English-speaking country in West Africa surrounded by French-speaking neighbors, the population speaks more than 80 languages. But among these, French practice remains marginal. as reported from Accra, Marine JeanninIn the Nima market, a popular district in the heart of the capital, people speak Hausa, Twi or…