US Says It Will Return to Chad for Talks to Keep Troops in the Country
The U.S. military plans to return to Chad within a month for talks about revising an agreement that allows it to keep troops based there, an American general said Wednesday. The U.S. said last month it was withdrawing most of its contingent of about 100 troops from Chad after the government questioned the legality of their operations there…U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Michael Langley, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, made the comments to reporters in Ghana at the second annual African Maritime Forces Summit, or AMFS. He said the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Chad was expected to be temporary, and Chad had communicated to Washington that it wanted to continue the security partnership after the presidential election there. AP
Medics in Sudan Taught to Treat Gunshot Wounds on Smartphones
[Hundreds of Sudanese healthcare workers use] an international platform called Project ECHO to connect with medical experts worldwide and get quick, real-time advice on how to treat [patients via a messaging app on their phones]. In Sudan, doctors are not taught trauma medicine, meaning many were left scrambling to deal with the sudden influx of injuries and diseases brought on by the civil war. ECHO employs specialised consultants from around the world and connects them with those who need their expertise…Most sessions are delivered via Zoom, but in war-torn Sudan, the ECHO programme is run on Telegram, a messaging app requiring minimal internet connectivity…Despite power outages, lack of internet connectivity, and the fact many of the healthcare workers themselves were displaced, ECHO managed to deliver 45 remote training sessions in the space of six months. The Telegraph
Inside Egypt’s Secret Scheme to Detain and Deport Thousands of Sudanese Refugees
Thousands of Sudanese refugees who escaped to neighbouring Egypt have been detained by Egyptian authorities in a network of secret military bases, and then deported back to their war-torn country often without the chance to claim asylum…The campaign involves multiple components of the Egyptian security apparatus as well as other agencies of the government…Refugees said authorities carried out mass deportations, with buses taking hundreds of people to border crossings…Experts said state abuses against refugees and migrants are likely to increase as a result of the new $8 billion EU funding package, which includes more than $200 million for migration control. The New Humanitarian
Kenyan Truck Drivers Face New Danger in South Sudan
Truck drivers plying the Nimule-Juba route into South Sudan are facing a new threat after a militia group circulated leaflets warning they won’t move without its permission or risk being shot. The leaflets are dated April 26 and attributed to a group calling itself People’s Freedom Movement (PFM) led by Philip Omon Bartholomeo, an upcoming rebel leader in South Sudan. In the notice, the group said all pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, passengers and their buses as well as drivers of commercial trucks must stop using the highway immediately…PFM’s actual demands are unknown, and neither is the group’s size or base. However, the leaflets add to the continual risk truck drivers, especially from Kenya and Uganda, face in supplying goods to South Sudan…In the past, truck drivers have been extorted, robbed or burnt to death. The EastAfrican
Britain Sanctions Three Ugandan Officials under Anti-corruption Laws
Britain sanctioned the speaker of the Ugandan parliament, Anita Among, and two high profile Ugandan lawmakers on Tuesday, targeting corruption in the east African country for the first time with its sanctions regime. Among plus Mary Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu, former ministers for the Karamoja region, will be subject to travel bans and asset freezes under the UK’s Global Anti-Corruption sanctions regime. Britain said Kitutu and Nandutu had stolen thousands of iron sheets from a government-funded housing project aimed at helping vulnerable communities in Karamoja. Among had benefited from the proceeds of the theft, London’s statement added…Both Kitutu and Nandutu have been charged with corruption in Uganda and their cases remain in the courts. Reuters
Lone Children at Risk of Deportation to Rwanda after Being Classified as Adults, Says Charity
Lone child asylum seekers are at risk of being sent to Rwanda because the Home Office has wrongly classified some as adults, it has been claimed. The Refugee Council, which works with these children, has warned of the risk after more than a dozen of the children it works with were wrongly issued with notices of intent for Rwanda…Eight young people received notices of intent for Rwanda while in adult Home Office accommodation. Six have had their ages definitively accepted as children and are now in the care of local authority children’s services…In freedom of information data obtained last year from 70 local authority social services departments, two-thirds of children – 867 of 1,386 – deemed to be adults by the Home Office were later confirmed to be children. The Guardian
The ‘Man Who Repairs Women’ on Rape as a Weapon and How the World Forgot the DRC
Walking around a camp for displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo this year, the Nobel peace laureate Dr Denis Mukwege was filled with shame. Around him were women, many of them survivors of rape, living in destitution with no access to clean water or to any protection…Known as the “man who repairs women”, Mukwege, 69, has treated more than 80,000 survivors of sexual violence by armed groups at Panzi hospital, which he founded in Bukavu, South Kivu, in 1999…In December, he ran in the presidential election…Mukwege, who has been nominated for the Aurora humanitarian prize announced [this] month, has campaigned around the world for survivors of gender-based violence, and last month he joined the Elders, an independent group of global leaders working for peace and human rights, founded by Nelson Mandela. The Guardian
World Bank Chief Expects Rich Nations to Meet African Donation Requests
World Bank President Ajay Banga said he expects donor countries to meet a request by African leaders to make record contributions to a low-interest facility for developing nations, saying these were not handouts but investments in the future. African heads of state called on Monday for rich nations to help raise at least $120 billion for the International Development Association (IDA) at a conference to be held in Japan in December. That would be a record for IDA, which offers long-term loans to developing nations and operates on a three-year cycle. Reuters
More Money Is Going to African Climate Startups, but a Huge Funding Gap Remains
Funding for climate tech startups in Africa from the private sector is growing, with businesses raising more than $3.4 billion since 2019. But there’s still a long way to go, with the continent requiring $277 billion annually to meet its climate goals for 2030. Experts say to unlock financing and fill this gap, African countries need to address risks like currency instability that they say reduce investor appetite, while investors need to expand their scope of interest to more climate sectors like flood protection, disaster management and heat management, and to use diverse funding methods…Last year, climate tech startups on the continent raised $1.04 billion, a 9% increase from the previous year and triple what they raised in 2019…The money raised by climate tech startups last year was more than a third of all funds raised by startups in Africa in 2023, placing climate tech second to fintech, a more mature sector. AP
Nigerian Gasoline Prices Soar as Shortages Worsen Cost of Living Crisis
Gasoline shortages persisted in Nigeria’s major cities on Tuesday, causing a sharp increase in prices and exacerbating the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
Prices in some retail outlets in Lagos and Abuja rose above 850 naira, while those outside major cities, such as Kano, soared above 1000 naira, though the government-owned oil firm, NNPC Ltd, which imports the products sells at an average price of 617 naira. President Bola Tinubu’s government last year removed subsidies and allowed private firms to import but foreign currency shortages and a cap on the price of petrol have meant NNPC remains the sole importer…Analysts say the price of basic food items would see a sharp increase if shortages persist. Reuters
Kenya to Help Zimbabwe Fight Sanctions; Zimbabwe to Help Odinga Land Top AU Job
Zimbabwe will be backing Nairobi’s bid to get veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga elected as African Union Commission chairperson next year. In return, Kenya has pledged its “unreserved” support for Zimbabwe’s bid for readmission into the Commonwealth. This came out of discussions between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto, at the weekend, in Bulawayo. Ruto was invited by Mnangagwa to open the country’s premier trade showcase, the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair…The AUC will become vacant at the end of former Chadian prime minister Moussa Faki Mahamat’s term. This time around, East Africa will be vying for the post. Odinga will be up against Djibouti’s foreign minister, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. News24
South Africa: Apartheid Victims Demand Reparations
The voices of some 50 elderly protesters are heard echoing in song across the grounds of South Africa’s Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, the commercial heart of South Africa. They are demanding justice and reparations for abuses suffered under apartheid — 30 years after the country became a democracy. They are all members of the Khulumani Support Group and the Galela Campaign — two groups fighting for financial redress for the victims of white minority rule under apartheid. The protesters say that since they weren’t identified as victims of human rights abuses during apartheid by South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), led by the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu 28 years ago, they haven’t benefited from any reparations paid out by the government to date. DW
African Universities Are Failing to Prepare Tech Graduates for Jobs in AI
More than 100 African universities offer courses related to AI, including data science and machine learning. But recruitment consultants and academics told Rest of World that graduates from these courses are largely unemployable because the programs are not up-to-date with the industry’s requirements. Several startups have stepped up to bridge this gap: They give young African tech graduates practical experience in AI by organizing projects and competitions where they can win cash prizes…The training provided by startups like Zindi is critical at a time when several African countries are dealing with high levels of unemployment, according to Abdul-Khaaliq Mohammed, an engineering professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. Rest of World
Vaccines Saved More than 50 Million Lives in Africa over 50 Years, Research Shows
Vaccines have saved more than 50 million lives in Africa over the past half century, new research shows. For every death averted, close to 60 years of life were saved on average, according to a report released by the World Health Organization (WHO). The vaccines have been made available through the WHO’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation initiative, which was launched in 1974…Notable achievements have been made through the initiative, including a reduction in measles deaths, with an estimated 19.5 million deaths averted over the last 22 years, the WHO report said. Africa has also witnessed a sharp decline in meningitis deaths, by up to 39 per cent in 2019 compared to 2000. Maternal and neonatal tetanus has nearly been eliminated, while the continent was declared free of indigenous wild poliovirus in 2022. The Telegraph