West Africa

Inundating rains have unleashed a wave of flooding and destruction across various cities and towns in West and Central Africa, affecting millions of lives. This deluge has ignited humanitarian emergencies in countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Mali, Ghana, and Liberia, with a staggering estimate of four million individuals, most of whom are children, caught in the turmoil.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reports that fortifying bouillon cubes in Nigeria with iron, folic acid, zinc, and vitamin B12 could prevent up to 16,6 million cases of anemia and save 11,000 children from neural tube defect-related deaths by 2050. The foundation calls on world leaders to increase investments in global health, focusing on child nutrition and well-being amid the growing climate crisis. The World Health Organization estimates that 148 million children are stunted, while 45 million are affected by…

As France prepares to withdraw its forces from Mali, the way may be open for talks between the Malian government and al-Qaeda-linked militants, a process that could bring the West African nation closer to peace. Mali, a landlocked nation of 21 million people, has fought to curb a brutal uprising that erupted in 2012, before spreading to neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger. Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed and 2 million people displaced by the Sahel-wide conflict, in which Mali is…

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau killed himself in a fight against rival terrorist fighters, Daesh's branch in the West African province (ISWAP) terrorist group said in a statement released to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday, two weeks after reports emerged he had dead. "Shekau preferred to be humiliated in the future rather than be humiliated on earth. He killed himself immediately by detonating an explosive substance," a Kanuri-speaking voice similar to ISWAP leader Abu Musab al-Barnawi said…

Nearly 20 million people are starving in West Africa and the Sahel region as the vast area is torn apart by conflict and the coronavirus pandemic, experts warned on Thursday. The situation could worsen between June and August, with as many as 27 million people needing immediate food aid, or almost one in ten people in 14 countries, experts say. In Nigeria alone, 12.8 million people could face a food crisis "or worse" this summer, according to the Food Crisis Prevention Network, which includes…

The Ivory Coast's ruling party and the main opposition both claimed victory on Sunday in the West African nation's legislative elections, with the official results yet to be announced. "We have achieved our goal of securing about 60 percent of the seats," said Adama Bictogo, number two in the ruling RHDP party. Early trends from local election commissions "clearly show that our party will win by a comfortable majority," he added. Earlier on Sunday, the center-right of the opposition party, the Ivory…