17 December 2021
Congo-Kinshasa: The latest Ebola outbreak in the country – which made six dead – has been declared over. A vaccination campaign (using Everbo Ebola vaccine) immediately after discovery of the first case helped contain the outbreak. “Stronger disease surveillance and community involvement are key in preventing future outbreak”.
BBC Africa Live 17 December 2021. 6:31
Ethiopia: Stating that all sides in the ongoing conflict are committing severe violations, “(t)he United Nations Human Rights Council has ordered an international investigation into abuses”.
BBC Africa Live 17 December 2021. 15:23
16 December 2021
Zimbabwe: At least 2,200 health personnel have left the country in 2021, more than twice as many as in 2020 and three times 2019, fragilizing the health system more and more – and the UK, the USA, Australia etc. benefitting.
BBC Africa Live 16 December 2021. 12:28
Nigeria: While officers implicated in abuses– remember #EndSars? – have yet to be held to account, police officers will get a 20% salary increase starting from January. This is “part of measures to discourage officers from taking bribes and extorting citizens”.
BBC Africa Live 16 December 2021. 6:10
Ghana: To prevent a fourth Covid wave, Ghana will keep its land borders closed. So far, there have been lor than 130,000 cases and 1,243 deaths.
BBC Africa Live 16 December 2021. 8:43
Central African Republic: After the suspension of the EU’s military training programme caused by EU concern over Russian mercenaries undue influence on the army, a march has been organised with French and EU flags to be burnt – “authorities (…) appear to be whipping up anti-French sentiment”.
BBC Africa Live 16 December 2021. 11:01
South Africa: The article presents Dolly Rathebe, one of Sophiatown’s “mega divas” along with Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu and Dorothy Masuku and “Africa’s very first black female movie superstar after appearing in the 1949 film, Jim Comes to Joburg.”
https://theconversation.com/celebrating-dolly-rathebe-south-africas-original-black-woman-superstar-172532
Outstanding African museums: The article recommends five museums: Maison Tiskiwin/Musée Tiskiwin (Tiskiwin Museum) – Marrakech, Morocco (history and culture of the Amazigh and Tuareg); Nairobi National Museum – Nairobi, Kenya (culture, history, contemporary art, nature); Musée des Civilisations Noires (Museum of Black Civilisations) – Dakar, Senegal (masks, statues, art pieces and objects of significance showing the diversity of African cultures); Museu Nacional de Antropologia (National Museum of Anthropology) – Luanda, Angola (masks, musical instruments, sculptures, art pieces, traditional accessories, and attire); Maropeng: Official Visitor Centre for the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site – Krugersdorp, South Africa (human ancestors and their development over millions of years).
https://theconversation.com/five-exciting-african-museums-to-add-to-your-travel-wish-list-173657
South Africa/film: Is poaching (here of abalone) a crime or is it “a noble response to the enduring legacy of colonial and apartheid exclusions of people of colour from the ocean space and resources”? The film that serves as the prompt for these reflections is called “Sons of the Sea”.
https://theconversation.com/south-african-movie-dives-into-the-complexity-of-poaching-173341
Books/Nigeria: The article’s authors recommend books about topics of importance to Nigeria: His Royal Majesty King Bubaraye Dakolo, The Riddle of the Oil Thief, 2021 (about the Niger delta and its people); Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, 2017 (how to raise a daughter without making her a victim of gender inequality); R. Balasubramaniam, I, the Citizen: Unraveling the Power of Citizen Engagement, 2017 (a very different view on development; the importance of citizen engagement); Banji Ojewale, Segun Babatope, Emeka Izeze and Tunde Opeibi, Kumuyi: Defender of the Faith, 2021 (a biography of the founder of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry).
https://theconversation.com/academics-suggest-good-reads-on-topical-issues-in-nigeria-172782
Sudan: The military is unwilling to loosen its grip on power. On the other side of the equation, amongst protesters, there is “an absolute refusal to accept the military as legitimate partners in this transition to democratic rule”. The ISS article calls on all actors “to be more flexible” in negotiating the country’s future.
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/will-sudans-new-agreement-hold-this-time-around