Africa

Image source: Africa Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI).

COVID-19: Africa Needs to Break the Circle of Dependency

Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — Africa Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative (AVMI) primarily aims at promoting the establishment of sustainable human vaccine manufacturing capacity in Africa. Since its establishment, AVMI together with multiple and different partners, have been advocating for the establishment of vaccine development and manufacturing in Africa.

With the outbreak of coronavirus, AVMI has embarked on public education on the risk of the pandemic and further been persuading African leaders about the need to seriously prioritize the manufacturing of vaccines instead of depending on external supply.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; OPINION; 14 May 2021

Widespread Frustration in Nigeria Would Not Justify a Coup

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — These days, it seems all right to play with fire. The blaze started as a solitary spark in Mali in August when the streets, the elite, and jihadists banded to remove President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

The former president had discarded election results and written a version that tightened his grip on power. How he thought he could reinvent the Mansa Musa legend in a country riven by violence and poverty only he can tell.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 13 May 2021

Photo: The Senegal Special Forces during the pass and review of the 45th Navy Day Anniversary Parade. Photo by Staff Sgt. Flor

Bandits Constrain Nigeria to Seeks Return of ‘Africom’

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Early Pentagon plans for a US military command based in Africa were once firmly rejected by almost every country on the continent. African governments were reluctant to associate themselves with America’s "war on terror" and fearful of US intervention.

Libya and Algeria both refused to host the combatant command. Even Morocco considered Washington’s closest North African ally, rejected the idea, saying it would not welcome a permanent military presence on its soil.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 11 May 2021

Photo: Nelson Mandela's former house, now Mandela Family Museum, Soweto, Johannesburg. CC BY-SA 3.0

Corona May Shutter South Africa’s Beloved Heritage Museums

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Popular exhibits at the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg and other legacy museums are barely surviving and may close over funding shortfalls due to COVID-19.

A pair of boxing gloves worn by Nelson Mandela at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, one of the most popular exhibits, is now covered with dust in a darkened room, according to Mfuneko Toyana, writing for Reuters.

: Global Information Network; ARTS & CULTURE; 11 May 2021

Africa the Next Centre for Manufacturing COVID Drug?

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — For a while, Africa appeared to be losing the fight to build manufacturing capacity for the production of COVID-19 vaccines as big pharma and rich countries questioned African capacity to make its own vaccines.

Some international companies regard African self-sufficiency as a long-term risk to their business, some fear a loss of influence.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 11 May 2021

Photo: Protesting for freedom of the press. Source: Global Investigative Journalism Network

Confronting Misinformation and Harmful News Content

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — News of working journalists in Africa is often a tale of threats, abduction, forced disappearance and arrest.

Most recently, two Spanish journalists and an Irish national were abducted near a nature reserve in Burkina Faso. Government officials confirmed their deaths on April 2. It remains unclear who carried out the attack.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 May 2021

Photo: President Cyril Ramaphosa at the 10th BRICS summit, comprising the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in July 2018. CC BY 4.0

Pres. Ramaphosa Says ANC Party Did Little to Thwart Corruption

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — In riveting testimony before a South African commission investigating corruption and graft, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that the ruling ANC party did little to prevent corruption, including by his predecessor Jacob Zuma.

“State capture and corruption have taken a great toll on our society and indeed on our economy as well,” Ramaphosa said. “They have eroded the values of our constitution and undermined the rule of law. If allowed to continue they would threaten the achievement of growth, development and transformation of our country.”

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 May 2021

Photo: SFC Commander, Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba. CC BY-SA 4.0

Uganda President's Son Led Elite Force Linked to Rights Abuses

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Senior military commanders, including the son of President Yoweri Museveni, have been named in a case before the International Criminal Court for a wave of abductions and torture—adding new charges to claims levelled by opposition politician Robert Kyagulanyi, the former reggae singer known as Bobi Wine.

Prosecutors at the ICC are already reviewing an early submission from Wine that described widespread human rights abuses before presidential polls held in January.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 03 May 2021

Photo: Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, is the largest city in the country and is separate from the Maputo Province. In the image the Port of Maputo is featured, the second largest in East Africa.

Mozambique In Search of Political and Economic Security

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) — While speaking during a signing ceremony of an agreement formalising World Bank support of US$100 million assistance to the affected districts, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi unreservedly reiterated his detailed plan to enforce nation-wide security by cracking down on the militant groups who have been staging attacks in parts of the northern province of Cabo Delgado since October 2017.

He also informed that courage, persistence and determination are necessary for the full-fledged fulfilment of the plan, as well as time for modernising and building the capacity of the Mozambican forces, adding that his government has to tread cautiously in choosing what type of aid to accept from other countries.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 02 May 2021

Photo: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Roscongress Foundation Alexander Stuglev with Roscongrees Foundation in the backdrop. Credit: Roscongress Foundation.Collage of photos of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Roscongress Foundation and Head of the Coordinating Council under the Secretariat of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum (RAPF) Alexander Stuglev

Russia Keen to Strengthen Partnership with Africa

Kester Kenn Klomegah* Interviews Roscongress' CEO

MOSCOW (IDN) — As the epidemiological situation begins to stabilize through mass vaccination and building herd immunity, the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is finally set to take place on June 2-5, 2021. This unique Russian forum is expected to bring together politicians, corporate business directors and investors from different parts of the world. The organizing committee will do everything in its power to ensure that the event is held with all the necessary measures in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.