Please note: The following news items are presented here for informational purposes. The views expressed within them are those of the authors and/or individuals quoted, not those of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the National Defense University, or the Department of Defense.
Evidence suggests Ebola toll vastly underestimated: WHO
How Bureaucrats Let Ebola Spread to Nigeria
The response to West Africa’s Ebola outbreak may end up doing a lot of good
By Sea and by Ladder, Africans Seek Entry to Spain
Morocco breaks up recruitment cell for ‘Islamic State’
Libya airstrike targets Derna terrorists
Risks ahead of the constitutional referendum in Burkina Faso
Egypt: Sisi slashes subsidies
As Africa went to Washington
Nigeria Militants Kidnap About 100 Boys and Men in Northeast
DR Congo war crimes trial of Egangela ‘a test case of justice’
500 guns seized: Somalia tries to disarm Mogadishu
Mugabe’s triumph – and Zimbabwe’s despair
Southern African Leaders to Meet in Zimbabwe
Kenya: Intelligence chief Gichangi resigns as Uhuru makes changes in Govt
South Africa: Blacks, whites don’t trust each other – survey
Africa’s most ambitious dam project could destroy its biggest desert lake
These new facts about Africa’s population will simply blow you away
The Weakest Link of HIV Prevention in Africa – Contraception
Egypt’s Fondness for Foreigners
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Evidence suggests Ebola toll vastly underestimated: WHO
Staff with the World Health Organisation battling an Ebola outbreak in West Africa see evidence the numbers of reported cases and deaths vastly underestimates the scale of the outbreak, the U.N. agency said on its website on Thursday. The death toll from the world’s worst outbreak of Ebola stood on Wednesday at 1,069 from 1,975 confirmed, probable and suspected cases, the agency said. The majority were in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, while four people have died in Nigeria. The agency’s apparent acknowledgement the situation is worse than previously thought could spur governments and aid organisations to take stronger measures against the virus. Reuters
How Bureaucrats Let Ebola Spread to Nigeria
After Patrick Sawyer’s sister died of the virus, Liberia’s Ministry of Health instructed him not to travel. But he was allowed to fly to Lagos. Now he’s dead—and 10 more are infected. From the hot zone come more chilling reports about the U.S. citizen who brought Ebola from his native Liberia to Nigeria and might well have brought it to America if he had been able to return to his wife and children in Minnesota this month as he planned. Daily Beast
The response to West Africa’s Ebola outbreak may end up doing a lot of good
For many in the affected countries, Ebola is among the least of their health worries. In the eight months from when the so-called patient zero was first infected to Aug. 5, 2014, malaria has killed nearly 30 times as many people in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Each week, everyday diarrheal disease claims more lives than Ebola has in eight months. These deaths from treatable diseases point to a deeper underlying problem, says Dr. Manpreet Singh, who works in Dalberg’s Nairobi office. “Health systems in West Africa are severely overstretched under normal conditions, let alone during a major outbreak like this,” says Singh. “To put this into perspective: Massachusetts General Hospital has over 2,000 physicians, whereas at the most recent count, Liberia had only 261 doctors providing health care for the whole country.” Quartz
By Sea and by Ladder, Africans Seek Entry to Spain
Migrants from Africa continued to pour across the Mediterranean this week, and Spain’s sea rescue service picked up 681 people traveling in 70 small boats across the Strait of Gibraltar. Above, a Red Cross worker helped with a feeding at a sports center in the Spanish port of Tarifa. Below, new arrivals stormed border fences with ladders to try to enter Spain’s northwest African enclave of Melilla from Morocco. Around 50 stayed on one of the fences for hours. The New York Times
Morocco breaks up recruitment cell for ‘Islamic State’
Moroccan police have dismantled a jihadist network suspected of recruiting volunteers to fight with the radical “Islamic State” group in Iraq and Syria. The operation was carried out with help from authorities in Spain. Deutsche Welle
Libya airstrike targets Derna terrorists
An air assault by Operation Dignity forces on Monday (August 11th) destroyed a weapons-laden boat as it approached the Libyan port of Derna. The strike followed a warning from General Khalifa Haftar’s operation that incoming vessels were likely carrying weapons and extremists. “We struck a boat carrying ammunition and people coming from Syria,” Colonel Mohamed Hijazi said. Magharebia
Risks ahead of the constitutional referendum in Burkina Faso
Longtemps réputé pour sa relative stabilité dans une région particulièrement troublée, le Burkina Faso se trouve aujourd’hui à la croisée des chemins, miné par les divergences autour du projet de révision constitutionnelle devant permettre au président Blaise Compaoré de se représenter aux élections de 2015. Depuis juillet 2013, le pays est ainsi traversé par des tensions sociopolitiques qui se sont cristallisées autour de deux projets : la mise en place du Sénat, dont l’opposition soupçonne le pouvoir de vouloir se servir pour réviser l’article 37 de la Constitution limitant le nombre de mandat présidentiel à deux quinquennats; et l’organisation d’un référendum constitutionnel pour le même dessein. ISS
Egypt: Sisi slashes subsidies
Some union leaders see the unpopular move as a means of political leverage. It is a mark of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s political confidence that he felt able to slash subsidies and hike petrol prices by between 40 and 78% on 4 July, more than a month after winning national elections. The immediate response on the streets was muted. There are more subsidy cuts to come, and these will critically test the government’s popular support. The morning after the changes were announced, bus and taxi drivers blocked roads. Africa Reports
As Africa went to Washington
The Africa Report checks in on the US-Africa summit and what it means for the future of cooperation between the world’s largest economy and some of its fastest-growing ones. Security, trade, governance and development are all competing to top the diplomatic priorities list. Some 50 African heads of state and government, together with hundreds of ministers, were due in Washington DC on 4-6 August for the first US-Africa Leaders’ Summit. The administration wants the summit to boost its diplomatic and commercial efforts at a time when Africa, the world’s fastest-growing region in economic and demographic terms, faces suitors from across the world. Africa Reports
Nigeria Militants Kidnap About 100 Boys and Men in Northeast
The Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnapped about 100 boys and young men from a remote northeastern Nigerian town, a vigilante group said. Boko Haram’s Aug. 10 attack on Doron Baga in Borno State also left 10 people dead, Hassan Ibrahim, a member of the vigilante group, said by phone today from the state capital of Maiduguri. Ibrahim said he believed the men will be “forcefully conscripted” to fight for the Islamists, who killed at least 2,053 people in the first half of the year, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch. Bloomberg
DR Congo war crimes trial of Egangela ‘a test case of justice’
The war crimes trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo of an ex-army officer will be a test of military justice, the UN mission in the country says. Lt Col Bedi Mobuli Egangela is charged with crimes including murder, rape and torture allegedly committed between 2005-2006 in eastern DR Congo. “He’s a very symbolic case,” the UN’s Scott Campbell told the BBC. The former commander, known as “Colonel 106″, has denied the charges. Conflict in eastern DR Congo has continued long after the end of the country’s civil war in 2002 as numerous armed groups compete for the control of the area’s rich mineral resources. BBC
500 guns seized: Somalia tries to disarm Mogadishu
n official says that Somalia’s government has launched a new disarmament campaign that has netted some 500 guns during four raids. Mohamed Yusuf, the spokesman for Somalia’s national security ministry, said the campaign is being carried out because officials fear that weapons could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda-linked fighters. Gun markets have a long history in Mogadishu, a city once overtly ruled by clan warlords. A proposed disarmament law has been approved by the government’s cabinet but hasn’t yet been voted on by parliament. AP on Stars and Stripes
Mugabe’s triumph – and Zimbabwe’s despair
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit starting on Sunday at Victoria Falls will be a triumph for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. And yet, another bitter pill for most of his long-suffering people to swallow. After being in SADC’s high-care ward for so long, Mugabe will return, with an official clean bill of health from the organisation, and no doubt huge presidential acclaim, to host his peers and to take its chair for the year to come. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s economy continues the plunge that really accelerated after Mugabe and his Zanu-PF party took back full control of the country, and ended the coalition government with the two Movement for Democratic Change formations in the elections of July 2013. ISS
Southern African Leaders to Meet in Zimbabwe
Preparations are almost complete ahead of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) heads of state summit scheduled next week in Zimbabwe, according to Tanki Mothae, SADC Director of Politics, Defense and Security Cooperation. He said the leaders will discuss deepening bilateral relations between member states. Peace and security issues are also on the agenda, topped by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where various rebel groups often attack unarmed civilians. Mothae said the regional bloc has partnered with the United Nations Mission to Congo (MONUSCO) to help defeat the armed groups. He says SADC is pleased with its efforts to ensure peace in the region. VOA
Kenya: Intelligence chief Gichangi resigns as Uhuru makes changes in Govt
Intelligence chief Major-General Michael Gichangi resigned Thursday evening in a shake-up of the security docket. Also removed is Interior Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo, who swaps places with his Defence counterpart, Ambassador Monica Juma. The spy chief’s departure and the first ever shuffle of principal secretaries in the Jubilee government was announced along with the appointment of some of the President’s political allies as ambassadors. Former Finance minister Njeru Githae is Kenya’s new ambassador to Washington while Ambassador Chirau Ali Mwakwere, a former Foreign Affairs minister, goes to Dar es Salaam. Former Finance Minister Robinson Njeru Githae. Daily Nation
South Africa: Blacks, whites don’t trust each other – survey
The level of trust between blacks and whites in South Africa is diminishing year on year, a survey released on Thursday found. “Seventy three percent of African respondents agreed while 44% of whites also agreed,” Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) executive director Professor David Everatt said. “Black attitudes towards whites are hardening year on year while whites have softened.” The GCRO, a partnership between the University of Johannesburg, the University of the Witwatersrand, the Gauteng government, and the SA Local Government Association, conducted a study with over 25 000 people to gauge satisfaction levels with governance in Gauteng province. News 24
Africa’s most ambitious dam project could destroy its biggest desert lake
Lake Turkana is the world’s biggest desert lake, a vital source of life for humans and animals alike. But its lifeline is about to be cut by a push for development. Ethiopia, which borders Kenya, is building Africa’s largest hydro-electric power project, damming the Omo River, Lake Turkana’s primary source of water. Losing the lake could not only mean wiping out a unique & delicate ecosystem that acts as the breeding grounds for millions of flamingos and supports the worlds largest population of Nile crocodiles. It could also deprive the communities around Lake Turkana of their livelihood — and jeopardize the region’s fragile peace. Globalpost
These new facts about Africa’s population will simply blow you away
Population shifts do not come around very often, but a big one is coming, and Africa will be right in the middle of it, a major new report shows. Unicef’s Generation 2030/Africa Report reveals a massive movement in the world’s population towards Africa, including some startling facts that will have policymakers tearing up long-held economic projections. The UN agency is urging them to take advantage of what it says is a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to craft child-focused investment strategies. With the current buzz about Africa Rising and concurrent warnings about many being left out, Africa can shape policies that will help it reap from its rapidly-shifting demographic transition, it says. Mail and Guardian
The Weakest Link of HIV Prevention in Africa – Contraception
In the rush to save babies from HIV infection and treat their mothers, experts warn that a key element of HIV prevention is being neglected in Africa – contraceptives for HIV positive women. Yet contraception is the second pillar of successful prevention of HIV transmission from mother to child (PMTCT), along with preventing infection among women and babies, and caring for those infected. “The contraceptive needs of HIV positive women are often put on the background, the main focus is on keeping mother and child healthy,” Florence Ngobeni-Allen, a spokesperson with the Elizabeth Glaser Paediatric AIDS Foundation, told IPS. A South African, she was diagnosed with HIV in 1996, lost a baby to AIDS and now has two healthy boys.IPS
Egypt’s Fondness for Foreigners
“I love Egypt and cannot live anywhere else, but as long as Europeans live in the country without restraint or laws, I find it impossible to live here. I suffer, I feel alienated and the injustice pains me.” That paragraph was written not by a modern Egyptian militant but by Nubar Pasha (1825-99), a Christian of Armenian descent, who was Egypt’s first prime minister. Nubar served under six Egyptian rulers, including Muhammad Ali, who ruled for 43 years (1805-48) and established a modern state. At first, Nubar was devoted to defending the trammeled rights of Egyptians — abolishing an oppressive system under which peasants had to work for no pay on government land. In 1875, however, he instigated so-called mixed courts. Based on the French legal code and presided over by European judges, the courts were designed to encourage foreigners to do business and settle in Egypt. The New York Times