Ghana Ruling Party Candidate Concedes in Presidential Election
Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party candidate, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, on Sunday conceded defeat in the country’s presidential election after failing to shake off widespread frustration over the struggling economy. Defeat in Saturday’s election ended two terms in power for the NPP under President Nana Akufo-Addo, marked by Ghana’s worst economic crisis in years, high inflation and a debt default. “The people of Ghana have spoken, the people have voted for change at this time and we respect it with all humility,” Bawumia said in a news conference. Bawumia said he had called his opponent, National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate and former president John Mahama, to congratulate him…With a history of democratic stability, Ghana’s two main parties, the NPP and NDC, have alternated in power equally since the return to multiparty politics in 1992. AFP
After Dissolving Government, Leader of Burkina Faso Junta Names New PM
Burkina Faso’s junta head named former communications minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo as prime minister Saturday, according to a presidential decree, a day after dissolving the government. Ouedraogo served in the Cabinet of outgoing premier Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela, who was stripped of his functions by Captain Ibrahim Traore on Friday. No reason was given for the dismissal of Tambela, who had headed three successive military-appointed governments since Traore came to power in a 2022 coup. A close ally of Traore,…Ouedraogo was formerly editor-in-chief and then director of the Sahel country’s state television. After the September 2022 coup, Traore tapped Ouedraogo for the post of Minister of Communications and government spokesperson as a civilian figure in the military administration. AFP
Mali Court Frees 11 Signatories to Declaration Calling for Ruling Military Junta to Stand Down
A court in Mali has freed 11 opposition leaders who were arrested in June on charges of plotting against the ruling military junta after calling for a return to civilian rule. Their provisional release on Friday has been seen as an attempt to calm the country’s political climate in the wake of the controversial appointment of Gen. Abdoulaye Maïga as prime minister. Mali has been ruled by military leaders since the junta seized power in 2020 and staged another coup the following year. [The 11 individuals] were charged with plotting against the junta after they signed a declaration in March calling for the military to relinquish power…Maïga was appointed prime minister in November, the day after Choguel Maïga (no relation), a civilian prime minister who criticized the junta for postponing the presidential election scheduled for 2024, was removed by junta leader Gen. Assimi Goita. AP
Mali: Why Tension between Barrick Gold and Ruling Junta Intensified
The Malian authorities [last] week issued an arrest warrant for Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow, whom they accuse of “money laundering”. Barrick Gold owns an 80% share of one of the world’s largest gold mines, the open-pit Loulo-Gounkoto site in western Mali, with the Malian state owning the remaining 20%. The arrest warrant for the Canadian company’s CEO comes amid a dispute between Barrick Gold and Mali’s military rulers over the country’s new mining code…Four Malian employees of Barrick Gold were also charged and detained in late November. Bristow is the subject of a national arrest warrant, although he is not thought to be in Mali. The court issued another warrant on the same day for Cheikh Abass Coulibaly, the Malian managing director of the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mining complex. According to the same sources, he was accused of the same offences. AFP
Tanzania Opposition Laments Its ‘Naivety’ over President as Repression Intensifies
When Samia Suluhu Hassan took office as Tanzania’s president in 2021, many in the east African country hailed what they hoped was a new dawn after the authoritarian and repressive rule of her predecessor John Magufuli…But opposition leaders say recent killings of officials, a spate of disappearances, and arrests of government critics and bans on opposition gatherings suggest the end of the reformist approach…In response to a joint statement by western diplomatic missions in September condemning reports of violence and disappearances and deaths of political and human rights activists, Hassan warned against “meddling” in Tanzanian affairs…The opposition and civil society have repeatedly called for reform of the constitution, which was created in favour of the authoritarian systems of a single-party state. But Hassan has said changes will take place after the presidential election. The Guardian
Sudan: Deadly Shelling of Darfur Camp Sparks Exodus of Displaced People
The United Nations has strongly condemned this week’s airtsrikes on the Zamzam camp for displaced people in western Sudan’s Darfur region, calling for the protection of innocent civilians who have fled the camp to seek refuge south of the regional capital El-Fasher. The town has been besieged by paramilitaries engaged in conflict with the country’s regular army since April of last year – more than 230 days. The rocket and artillery strikes by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Zamzam camp began on Sunday, 1 December and continued until Thursday, resulting in the deaths of at least 11 civilians – in a camp already affected by severe famine…Prince Djuma, medical manager of NGO Médecins Sans Frontière’s emergency unit responsible for Sudan, [said] “[T]here are also patients who have fled because they were afraid of the bombs, despite their illness. So all the sick people who were under outpatient care and the children with malnutrition, we can’t keep track of them today because of the bombings.” RFI
30+ People with Disabilities Detained amid Sudan War
Since the war erupted on April 15, 2023, at least 15 members of the Sudanese Union of People with Disabilities have been killed, more than 30 have been detained, while more than 500 have been displaced…[Zainab Saleh, a member of the Union of Persons with Disabilities in South Darfur] highlighted the dangers faced by people with disabilities who remain trapped in areas of intense fighting. Many are unable to find safe passages to escape or defend themselves and are forced to endure the violence without any means of protection. “People with disabilities previously relied on specialised centres for rehabilitation, but these services have been obliterated by the war. They are certainly no longer available in displacement camps,” Zainab said, adding that the absence of safe and accessible resources has left many in desperate conditions. Disabled people can also be targeted by fighters. There have been reports of armed men, particularly Rapid Support Forces (RSF) soldiers, shooting mentally disabled people on sight. Dabanga
Cholera Outbreak in South Sudan ‘Rapidly Escalating’, Aid Group Warns
An outbreak of cholera in South Sudan is “rapidly escalating”, a humanitarian group has warned, more than a month after the first suspected case was detected. Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said on Friday that a total of 737 cholera cases were reported in Malakal, the capital of South Sudan’s Upper Nile state…Cholera is an acute form of diarrhoea that is treatable with antibiotics and hydration, but can kill within hours if left untreated. It is caused by a germ that is typically transmitted through a lack of access to sanitation. People become infected when they swallow food or water carrying the bug…The outbreak was initially declared in late October in Renk, another town in Upper Nile State that serves as a “major entry point for refugees and returnees from Sudan“. Al Jazeera
A Mystery Illness Has Killed Dozens of People in Congo. UN Experts Are now Investigating
The World Health Organization said Friday it was deploying experts to investigate a mystery flu-like illness that has killed dozens of people in southwest Congo in recent weeks…The symptoms include fever, headache, cough and anemia. Epidemiological experts from the National Rapid Response Team are in the region to take samples and investigate the disease. Authorities in Congo have so far confirmed 71 deaths, including 27 people who died in hospitals and 44 in the community in the southern province of Kwango, Health Minister Roger Kamba said Thursday. The deaths were recorded between Nov. 10 and Nov. 25 in the Panzi health zone of Kwango province. There were around 380 cases, almost half of which were children under the age of 5, according to the minister.
Rising Malnutrition in Northwest Nigeria: MSF Warns of Worsening Crisis
The malnutrition crisis ravaging children in northwestern Nigeria has reached “extremely critical” levels, with over 30 per cent of under-five in Kastina, Jibia, and Mashi local government areas suffering from acute malnutrition, according to a recent survey by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The study, released in collaboration with Epicentre, MSF’s epidemiology arm and the Katsina State Ministry of Health, carried out in July 2024, shows a sharp rise from 22 per cent in 2022. Severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form, now affects between 6.8 to 14.4 per cent of children, reflecting a doubling of malnutrition rates compared to 2023…The rising hunger crisis is deeply intertwined with broader systemic challenges, including soaring inflation, a weakened naira, and declining agricultural yields. Compounding these challenges are persistent insecurity and climate shocks, such as floods, which have devastated livelihoods and disrupted supply chains. HumAngle
Morocco Produces Africa’s First Mpox Tests as the Continent Tries to Rely Less on Imports
After African countries struggled to get testing kits during the COVID-19 pandemic, officials vowed to make the continent less dependent on imported medical supplies. Now, in a first for Africa, a Moroccan company is filling orders for mpox tests as an outbreak continues. Moroccan startup Moldiag began developing mpox tests after the World Health Organization declared the virus a global emergency in August…Moldiag’s $5 price for the current tests aligns with recommendations from both the WHO’s target product standards and demands of health advocates who have criticized the cost of other tests…Africa-based manufacturing fulfills a primary objective that African Union member states agreed on after the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed global disparities and unequal access to medical supplies, including vaccines, tests and antiviral medications. AP
Migrants Who Survived Madagascar Boat Tragedy Arrive Back in Somalia
Nearly 50 survivors of a migrant boat tragedy last month that left 25 people dead in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar arrived back in Somalia on Saturday and were received by government officials…The survivors told The Associated Press that they were stranded in the ocean for 13 days after their boat’s engines failed…The boats left from a beach near the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Nov. 2 with 73 people on board and were believed to be headed to the French region of Mayotte, according to Jean-Edmond Randrianantenaina, the head of Madagascar’s Maritime Ports Agency. Mayotte, an archipelago, is around 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) from Mogadishu. AP