Africa Daily

Bola Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 election back in March by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. It was an election marred by technical glitches in the electronic polling system, delays which saw some voters queuing through the night, some cases of armed men attacking polling stations and voter intimidation. But it’s unclear whether these problems were enoug...

"We import everything and that leads to many challenges such as affordability." A gadget to help a blind person pour a drink and not spill it. Another to count up cash. And yet another to allow them to read a book in six South African languages. These are some examples of the sorts of ‘assistive technology’ now available for people living with a disability. Next week in Nairobi, the ‘Inclusive Afr...

“Patients will complain of swollen eyelids, watery discharge, crusty eyelids, pain, light sensitivity. And if it is getting more serious, then they will complain of blurry vision.” In today’s episode Alan Kasujja investigates how Benin and Mali successfully eradicated trachoma. The announcement was made by the World Health Organisation this month. This is a disease of the eye caused by bacterial i...

Over the past six decades, Dr Edna Adan Ismail has been a nurse and midwife. She has spent her life fighting for maternal health care rights in Somaliland and campaigning against Female Genital Mutilation- a practice which involves the partial or total removal of genitalia. It leaves many women and girls with infections, pain and complications in child birth. She’s been in the news recently becaus...

“In diplomacy we always say, there’s no free lunch, there’s a catch somewhere” In this episode, Alan Kasujja speaks to Russian ambassador to Malawi and Zimbabwe, Nikolai Krasilnikov. His country donated 20, 000 tons of fertilizer to Malawi and 18 helicopters to Zimbabwe for policing, wild life protection duties and disaster management. But why is Russia appearing to be going out of its way to find...

“They insulted me: ‘you’re having another boy! When they grow up they become Seleka!’. When I took him for a consultation, I preferred to put a scarf on him and disguise him as a girl. They didn't want to see boys. If they saw them, they threatened to kill them.” In March 2013, the mostly Muslim, anti-government Seleka forces descended on Bangui, the capital of CAR, and overthrew the government of...

Sickle cell disease is an inherited condition which primarily impacts people with genetic ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. It’s caused by a defective gene which alters how red blood cells grow, it mutates them and they become sickle shaped. These cells don’t live as long as healthy blood cells and they can block blood vessels. This can cause severe pain and organ failure. The main a cure is a bon...

It is now over a month since the conflict started in Sudan. Representatives of the Sudanese army and rival Rapid Support Forces have been negotiating in Saudi Arabia for over a week. But so far all commitments to protect civilians and allow access for humanitarian aid have been broken. In past episodes of Africa Daily, we’ve heard the story of people who’s lives have been turned upside down. Now A...

Women in Sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely to get HIV as men. That’s why it was big news when the World Health Organisation approved a new method of HIV prevention in 2021: the dapivirine ring. It’s a silicone band that women insert vaginally and can leave in for four weeks. The ring slowly releases dapivirine, an anti-retroviral drug that stops HIV in its tracks. It’s been hailed as a game c...

Eugenia Kargbo is Africa’s first Chief Heat Officer. She was appointed by the government of Sierra Leone, and is responsible for helping people who are struggling from the effects of extreme heat and ‘burning, suffocating sunshine’. Sierra Leone isn’t among Africa’s warmest countries. Mali is thought to be the hottest country on the continent…and in the world. But Sierra Leone has been experiencin...

“There are gangs who’ve realised that gay people cannot go to the police so that makes them ‘good victims’ for blackmail... Everybody you speak to has been kitoed or knows someone has been kitoed. And that’s just how rampant it is.” Do you know what the word Kito means? Or Kitorist? Or Kitoed? In Nigeria it’s come to mean when people, usually gangs, use online dating apps to entrap gay people - an...

On World Press Freedom Day last week– journalists from Burkina Faso alongside their colleagues in Mali, called for an end to all measures that undermine press freedom. The military, who have been in charge in Burkina Faso since coups they led last year overthrew the government, are dealing with a jihadist insurgency which spread over the border from Mali in 2015. Almost half of the country is curr...

Gifty Ayoka is the mother of a child with what used to be called Autism, but is now known as Autism Spectrum Disorder. It’s caused by differences in the brain that might lead to different ways of learning, moving or paying attention. When her son was born 11 years ago, there was very little knowledge about the disorder. Gifty decided to train as a language therapist herself, to help support her so...

"The resounding cry from the report is these babies should have the same chance. And they can." A report out today says that globally, we’ve made no progress at all over the last decade in reducing the number of pregnancies that end with a premature birth. And in Africa - just 1 in 10 of those premature babies will survive, compared to 9 out of 10 in high income countries. So why are premature bab...

Kenya imports most of its honey from countries including India, Australia and UAE. But Kenya has huge potential to produce its own honey. And it could be a hugely profitable crop for farmers or budding entrepreneurs. So how do you run a successful beekeeping and honey production business? And what are entrepreneurs in Kenya doing to take advantage of the market? #AfricaDaily

It's been a serious issue in Kenya for a long time: household air pollution caused by unclean cooking fuels. Now, a campaign is underway to persuade people to switch from charcoal, kerosene and firewood use. Pollutants from the fuels kill more than 23,000 Kenyans each year. PRESENTER: @kasujja GUESTS: Nancy Chebichi and Willah Nabukwangwa of Clean-Air (Africa)

The fighting in Sudan has continued for a third week On Thursday a new seven day ceasefire took effect, but they haven’t been fully observed in the past. Hundreds of thousands of people are continuing to leave the country. But many more are staying, either through choice or lack of choice. So, what is life like for those still in Sudan? #AfricaDaily

It’s been a case of will they? Won’t they? Speaking at an event last month, South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that his party, the ANC, had taken the decision to pull out of the International Criminal Court. But then, the party backtracked and said it was still under discussion. It’s all come about because of President Vladimir Putin. In March, the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest,...

A few weeks ago the United States President Joe Biden said he wants at least two thirds of new vehicles sold in the US to be electric within a decade. The government say this is about positioning America to drive the electric vehicle future forward, outcompeting China, and tackling the climate crisis. It’s a message which puts Africa in a unique position. Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Cong...

We regularly hear about plastic pollution – but what about textile waste? An activist is swimming the length of Ghana's longest river – all 450 kilometres of it - to highlight the issue of unchecked second hand clothing imports and its impact on water pollution. Ghana imports a staggering 15 million pieces of unwanted clothing every WEEK - more than any other African country. The clothes are donat...

“There are times when you are sitting in a taxi listening to boring music. Remember, we don’t all enjoy the same type of music. But with wi-fi, you can connect to your smartphone and do something different. You can be on social networks. It’s a lovely initiative”. Over a decade ago, a South African tech start-up owned by the taxi industry came up with an idea to roll out free wi-fi in minibus taxi...

Another week has gone by, and the conflict in Sudan is still ongoing. Despite a ceasefire that was in place over the last three days, the fighting has continued. Many Sudanese have found themselves with an impossible decision to make…to stay or to go. So, what has the journey been like for people fleeing Sudan? Guests: Kholood Khair - Founding Director of Confluence Advisory, a think tank based in...

In a remote and hidden area in the Shakahola forest near the Kenyan coast, a grisly and distressing operation is taking place: around 60 mass graves are gradually being dug up and the bodies they contain exhumed. The authorities were called in after it was reported that members of a cult had been persuaded to starve themselves to death as a way to be accepted into heaven. So far 89 bodies have bee...

An upcoming Netflix documentary film has caused drama in Egypt. The film is part of a series about African queens and one of those featured is Cleopatra, the Egyptian Queen. So many movies about her have been made over the years, but there’s one difference with this new film – Cleopatra is played by a Black actress. Alan Kasujja is looking at why a Black actress playing Cleopatra has enraged a nat...

“Other people want to teach us about conservation. They do not understand we are conservationists par excellence. Wildlife is not all we have. Nature is all that we are.” Today on Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja considers the question of whether the conservation industry is fit for purpose when it comes to Africa. For years, critics have complained that it has been dominated by foreigners – and they sa...