Afrika Nå

“An important read... The still-unfolding tragedy of South Sudan is too little understood and too little known, even among foreign policy experts. Zach Vertin is a rare exception.” - JOHN KERRY 68th U.S. Secretary of State A Rope from the sky - The making and unmaking of the world's newest state is a book about South Sudan and how the new nation was plunged into chaos, shattering the promise of li...

I år er det 25 år siden den banebrytende Kairo-konferansen, som huskes best som konferansen der kvinners rolle ble satt i direkte sammenheng med befolkningsspørsmålet, og hvor seksuell og reproduktiv helse og rettigheter virkelig ble satt på agendaen. Et sentralt punkt var om abort skal tolkes som en komponent av reproduktiv helse og som en universell rettighet. Sterke ideologiske ulikheter splitt...

I 2011 besluttet den norske regjeringen i rekordfart, under ledelse av Jens Stoltenberg, å delta i militæroperasjonene i Libya. Under krigen slapp norske styrker 588 bomber over landet og operasjonen er den mest omfattende Norge har deltatt i siden andre verdenskrig. Mange spørsmål er blitt stilt vedrørende Norges rolle i krigen i ettertid, men hva kan vi lære av Libya-krigen? Libya-rapporten som...

Abiy Ahmed was the prime minister on everyone's lips from April 2018. In one year he has made peace with Eritrea, freed thousands of opposition prisoners, opened up to foreign investors, survived an assassination and a mutiny, appointed women as half of the government and the president and tackled corruption and human rights violations within the ruling party. However, Ethiopia is facing growing c...

KLUPOD is brought to you by the gender and equality group (KLU- Kjønn og Likestilling) at the Norwegian Council for Africa (Fellesrådet for Afrika) in Oslo. We work with activists and artists to create awareness about current topics affecting gender and equality, aiming to contribute to a more nuanced perception of the continent. Each podcast will focus on topics relevant to us and our work, where...

Barnearbeid i koboltgruvene i Kongo. Tekstilarbeidere i Bangladesh som hver dag risikerer et nytt Rana Plaza. Urfolksrepresentanter i Guatemala som voldtas og drepes fordi de ikke vil overlate jorden sin til gruvedrift. Miljøforkjempere i Brasil som blir drept fordi de protesterer mot tvangsflytting, vannforurensing og avskoging. Disse eksemplene viser at vi trenger en menneskerettighetslov for næ...

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, was set to vote in presidential and federal elections on 16 Februar. But the elections were postponed last minute to 23 February. The political landscape in Nigeria has changed the last decade, and there is an increasing democratic participation. However, violent conflicts, corruption and militant activists are still challenges for the country. Promise...

The decade from 2015 to 2024 has been proclaimed the International Decade for People of African Descent by the UN. The UN advise all states to "Celebrate the launch of the International Decade at the national level, and develop national programmes of action and activities for the full and effective implementation of the Decade". However, in Norway, the state has not taken any initiative regarding...

Zambia only just over a decade ago had their debts written off by the IMF and the World Bank. However, the public debt in the country has increased significantly in the recent years, and concerns over a possible crisis have been aired. Some are blaming unsustainable Chinese loans and say that China is pursuing debt-trap diplomacy with the aim of taking over Zambia's strategic assets. Is China real...

Disguised corporations, fake foundations, trade misinvoicing, holes in financial regulation, secrecy jurisdictions - what effect does the shadow financial system have on democracy? Raymond Baker, director and founder of US think tank Global Financial Integrity, has spent many years in close vincity to US decision making processes regarding financial secrecy, and advised African governments on curb...

Mozambique is at one of its most critical moments since the end of the civil war in 1992. The government has borrowed massively both internationally and domestically, and this includes three secret loans amounting to $2bn between 2013 and 2014. This has led to several major donors, like IMF and the World Bank, suspending aid, while the government is unable to repay the loans. This scandal has seri...

Each year, Reporters Without Borders ranks countries according to the degree of freedom the media enjoys. The list for 2018 shows that press freedom varies considerably across Africa. While Ghana, Namibia and South Africa score high, countries such as Eritrea, Sudan, Burundi, Somalia and Egypt are at the bottom. What is the situation for the free media on the African continent? And how do the chal...

President Museveni has been the president of Uganda since 1986. In a country where more than 75 percent of the population is below 35 years, many have never known any other president. Lately, many youth have voiced their support of artist and member of Parliament, Bobi Wine, as someone who could bring about real change. Some have compared the situation in the country to a pressure cooker waiting t...

Adegbeye and Sira Myhre in a conversation about literature, activism through literature, feminism, gender, religion and how it is to live and make a life as a young female author in Lagos, Nigeria. Adegbeye is an author, feminist and activist. She is a prominent figure among Nigerian and African feminists of her generation, and her writing has been published in a range of different languages. Adeg...

There have been some tumultuous months in Zimbabwe. No one had foreseen that Mugabe would be forced out of power after 37 years, supported by the vast majority of the population. The upcoming election taking place on 30 July could decide the country's course for decades to come. What is the outcome of the elections? And what does this election mean for the future of Zimbabwe? The relatively peacef...

Mange norske bedrifter ønsker å ta del i de raskt voksende økonomiene på det afrikanske kontinentet. Fra 2000 er antallet norske selskaper i Afrika sør for Sahara mangedoblet. Tall fra SSB viser at investeringer i afrikanske land er svært lønnsomme for Norge, i tillegg til at mange afrikanske land ønsker flere investorer velkommen. Regjeringen mener at økte private investeringer reduserer fattigdo...

Female sanitary pads, reproductive health, and menstruation in particular, is a topic deemed taboo in many African countries. Menstruation is often associated with uncleanliness and impurity, and there is little awareness about the importance of adequate sanitary facilities. What role does the language surrounding female sanitation play in stigmatizing women and their bodies? And what role does wi...

The successive oil spills in the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria over the last decades have destroyed the local fishery, the drinking water and the opportunity to cultivate land. But who is responsible? Is it solely the Nigerian government? What about oil companies operating in the area? The Norwegian pension fund (Oljefondet) has shares in Shell that is operating in the Delta - should they be hel...

Den nyvalgte presidenten i Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmaajo), henvendte seg til Al-Shabab, Al-Qaida og IS i sin innvielsestale i 2017 med ordene: "Til de av dere som arbeider med militante ekstremister, vit at deres tid er over." Likevel opplevde landet det blodigste terrorangrepet i landets historie bare måneder senere. Har Farmaajo levd opp til forventningene, og hvordan er situasjon...

A report published by the International Labour Organization and International Organization for Migration last year estimated that more than 40 million people are living in slavery. Probably the number is higher. And the situation in African countries is the most serious. What does slavery in our time entail and which structures in the international society allow this to continue? The whole world h...

It is estimated that African countries, relative to the size of their economies, lose more in corporate tax evasion than countries anywhere else in the world. What is the role of taxation in creating development in Africa? Is stopping illicit financial flows a silver bullet to increase the financing for development? Or are we putting too little emphasis on domestic challenges of building national...

On 17th December, Tunisia marked seven years since the start of the protests that spread across the region and came to be known as the Arab Spring. The country has been praised for its relatively peaceful transition to democracy. However, seven years after the revolution, the country remains a fragile democracy facing economic challenges, widespread corruption and terrorist threats. Has the revolu...

For decades, Tanzania has been one of the most important countries for Norwegian development cooperation. Today's president Jon Magufuli is often referred to as a new Nyerere. What then are the implications for how we can see the present in the light of the past? Tanzania has, in line with many socialist one-party states, opened up for market economy and multi-party elections. How can we understan...

While ECOWAS was on the short-list for the Nobel Peace Prize for its intervention in the Gambia, the East African Community (EAC) struggles to produce meaningful progress and results in Burundi. The African Union (AU) has peace and security at the core of its mandate. However, much of the handling of conflict is usually delegated to one of the various regional blocks on the continent. What are the...

I 38 år har José Eduardo dos Santos vært president i Angola. Det gjør ham til verdens nest lengstsittende president. Nå har han meldt at han trer av ved høstens valg. Hva skjer da? For 40 år siden endret det regjerende MPLA-partiet grunnleggende angolansk politikk gjennom omfattende massakrer og politisk opprensing internt i eget parti. 27. mai 1977 har blitt et arr i den angolanske kollektive huk...