Africa

I am worried about Africa’s preparedness for the COVID-19 outbreak, and so should everybody else. As at the beginning of March, there were only four cases in Africa spread across Egypt, Algeria and Nigeria. Since then, at least 46 out of 54 countries in Africa have reported cases of COVID-19. On March 28 2020, roughly four […]

Ghana’s “Year of Return”, by its very nature, was bound to gain a considerable amount of positive press in the United States. The campaign encouraged descendants of the African diaspora to visit and invest in Ghana. For African Americans who struggle to locate their ancestral roots, the “Year of Return” provided a fresh opportunity to […]

  *The names of the subjects in this article have been changed to protect their identity. A heavy stench of sewage permeates the air where 11-year-old Amina roams in search of change. With tattered sandals and stained clothing nearly sliding off her frail frame, she entertains herself by kicking dust on a busy, trash-filled street […]

Africa in the 21st century is young, urban, and digitally connected. More than half of all Africans are younger than 20. By mid-century, more Africans will migrate to cities than on any other continent in the world, seeking opportunity across both physical and digital spaces. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced the highest growth in internet usage […]

Since the dawn of the last century, progressive African visionaries have proffered that to achieve economic well-being, African nations must forge a path to prosperity that is independent of Western prescription. Yet, are the continent’s challenges so distinct as to be completely unique from those of the rest of the world? In July 1900, the […]

BY NIMO MATHENGE   I recently met with a young Kenyan thespian traveling throughout the U.S. in search of a career in the arts.  As we reminisced about his college days, he expressed some regret that his education did not include classes that would have adequately prepared him for a successful career in his chosen […]

  In early Fall 2017, the husband of Ghanaian entertainer Afia Schwarzenegger uploaded videos of what appeared to be Schwarzenegger engaging in an extramarital affair. Ghana’s digital publics swiftly demonized her. That September, several women used the hashtag #MenAreTheirOwnEnemies to expose the misogyny pervading media coverage of the Schwarzenegger affair. Regardless of the facts of […]

In Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo’s Integrated Aluminum Industry Plan (the “Plan”) has sparked a contentious debate about how to exploit bauxite – the primary ore used to make aluminum – in a manner that will not jeopardize the country’s sustainable development. The Plan calls for the construction of mines to triple bauxite output, facilities, such […]

How did Buhari win? Or, as the opposing camp have asked, how did Atiku lose? This article considers pertinent forces that shaped the election outcome, and argues that technological infrastructure already found in Nigeria holds promising solutions for future elections. Africa’s largest democracy went to the polls to elect a president on the last Saturday […]

Since the first genetically modified (“GM”), or biotech crop was released onto the market for human consumption in 1994, African countries have been largely adverse to the crops. Only four African countries have, at some point in time, permitted GM crops to enter their markets.[1] However, with the help of the Economic Community of West […]

Measuring impact of a long term systemic change project Isabel Opice Isabel Opice is a second year MPA/ID student at HKS. Prior to HKS, she worked as an Office Advisor in the Secretariat in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In the everyday life in Brazil, I have seen stark social injustice: young homeless children on […]

BY CLAIRE CHAUMONT “From now on it can be said that plague was the concern of all of us.” The Plague, A. Camus, 1947[1] On 24 January 2014, the head of Meliandou health post, a sparsely populated village in Guinea, West Africa, informed district health officials of five cases of an unknown infectious disease characterized […]