Eye on Africa

In Durban, Africa's public health debate turns from aid to agency Durban — Delegates in brightly patterned shirts and surgical scrubs threaded their way through the humid corridors of the conference centre here, trading phone numbers, business cards and the kind of blunt, practical advice that follows crises. This was not a glossy health summit but a working room: ministers, nurses, start‑up founders, community health workers and WHO officials convened for the 4th International Conference on Public Health in Africa (CPHIA)…

Grieving Amid the Chaos: Uganda's Road Tragedy Exposes a Deeper Crisis When dawn broke over the western Ugandan plains on Wednesday, it illuminated not just the rolling landscape but the horrific remnants of one of the country's deadliest road accidents in recent memory. At least 46 lives were cut short when two buses and two other vehicles collided in a tragic dance of metal on the highway near Kiryandongo, reflecting a disturbing pattern of road fatalities prevalent across East Africa. The Human Cost The scene was a…

Opinion | Somalia’s Next Leap Won’t Come From Another Election On a dusty midmorning in Mogadishu, as tuk-tuks weave past concrete blast walls and hopeful new cafes, I asked a lawyer what he most wanted from the state. He didn’t say elections. He said a judge he could trust. That answer hangs over Somalia’s future. For more than three decades, the country has circled the same roundabout: hurry toward a vote, argue over the rules, postpone, compromise, vote, then start over. Each cycle spotlights familiar headlines about…

Somalia: Three brothers killed on family farm in suspected clan-reprisal attack in Lower Shabelle At least three brothers were shot dead while working their fields in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region on Wednesday, in what local residents described as a clan-reprisal attack. The killings took place in Dudumaaye, an area under the Wanlaweyn district, about two hours by road from Mogadishu. Residents reached by phone said the men were tending their farm when gunmen believed to be from a rival militia opened fire. The victims…

Mozambique’s memory of election violence tests trust in courts and rights to protest When former presidential contender Venancio Mondlane publicly disavowed calls for street demonstrations this week, he was trying to steer what has become an anxious ritual in Mozambique away from confrontation and toward commemoration. “I did not call for demonstrations,” he told supporters; “I called for a day of reflection” to honour those killed in the unrest that followed last year’s disputed election — among them his lawyer, slain…

Somalia says overnight raid kills seven Al‑Shabaab fighters as counterinsurgency grinds on in Hiiraan Somalia’s intelligence service says its agents, working with international partners, killed seven Al‑Shabaab fighters in a three‑phase raid overnight in the country’s central Hiiraan region, a patch of territory that has swung back and forth between government forces and the al‑Qaida‑linked group over the past two years. In a statement released Tuesday, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said the…

The Unyielding Call for Justice: A City Divided by Dissent On a seemingly ordinary day in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the air thickens with tension as protesters gather, their chants rising like a storm. Under a veil of clouds and uncertainty, the demonstration unfurls its wings, an echo of a deeper longing for justice and autonomy resonating through the streets. Amid the clamor, one name emerges—Nnamdi Kanu, a polarizing figure whose imprisonment has set aflame a nation’s quest for identity and political agency. The…

Violence erupts as social-media-fuelled gold rush swamps northwestern Zambia Hundreds of police clashed with thousands of informal miners this week in northwestern Zambia after viral posts claimed gold lay just beneath the surface across a wide rural swathe. The sudden influx — tens of thousands of people by local estimates — overwhelmed local authorities, sparked allegations of bribery and violence, and prompted a delegation of senior ministers to the scene in a bid to restore order. Officials said security forces had…

Morocco's Bold Investment in Health and Education: A Hopeful Path for Reform In a significant stride towards modernization, Morocco has unveiled plans to invest 140 billion dirhams—approximately $14 billion—into its education and health sectors in the coming year. Announced at a ministerial meeting chaired by King Mohammed VI in Rabat, this initiative aims to address long-standing issues in these critical areas, marking a substantial commitment to improving the nation's infrastructure and workforce. A Boost to Health…

Somalia’s Donor Dollars Meet Local Politics: Hirshabelle’s District Choice Reopens Old Debates In Somalia’s Hirshabelle state, a seemingly technical decision — which district gets the next round of donor-backed support — has turned into a small window on a much larger question: who gets to be seen, heard, and funded in a federal system still finding its feet. The controversy touches the Somalia Recurrent Cost & Reform Financing (RCRF) Phase III program, an internationally funded effort, implemented by the Federal…