Africa Daily

Africa’s beauty industry is soaring. Across the continent, there’s never been this many people with enough income to spend on beauty products. African companies are tapping into this growing market, but it’s not always easy for them to compete against more well-known (often European) brands. But multinationals themselves face challenges when trying to operate in a continent that they don’t often f...

Has Tanzania really dodged the pandemic? This week, their health minister announced it had no plans to roll out Covid vaccines. This hardly came as a surprise: just a few days before, President Magufuli had suggested coronavirus vaccines could harm people. No evidence was ever provided to back such claims, and yet they really worried health officials across the continent. Critics have accused the...

A drug that shields women from HIV. Sounds good, right? Despite advances in treatment and prevention, HIV is still rampant across parts of the continent: in east and southern Africa, more than 20 million people are living with the virus. Young women are particularly at risk. But a new device that’s just been approved by the World Health Organisation could give women a lot more control over their s...

Can South Sudan be king of coffee? Years of a vicious civil war have taken their toll on the country. Oil production is not what it used to be – so, many in South Sudan are looking for alternative ways to kickstart the economy. In the Equatoria region, some farmers say coffee is the answer. But they face many hurdles to compete against big, more established coffee producers across the continent, s...

Who’s in charge in the Central African Republic? It depends on who you ask. Rebel forces are now in control of two thirds of the country, but they’re not quite done yet. They want to see President Faustin Archange Touadéra gone. He was re-elected last December, but his opponents say he didn’t win fair and square. Meanwhile, thousands of people have already fled the country fearing for their safety...

The government says as it battles a surge in Covid-19 cases a ban on alcohol is necessary to alleviate the pressure on its healthcare system. The last ban was imposed on December 28th. But the South African government is now facing mounting legal challenges to its ban on alcohol. The brewing industry argues that legal action is needed to protect its employees, suppliers, and customers. It says the...

Young Tunisians are fuming. For the last two weeks, they’ve been organising protests across the country, sometimes clashing with the police. And the unrest couldn’t have come at a more symbolic time. It’s now ten years since Tunisia got rid of its long-serving President, Ben Ali. The type of occasion that calls for a toast, right? Not quite. Many people feel their problems remain unaddressed - fro...

We need to talk about periods. For many women across the continent, being unable to buy sanitary products every month means missing school or work. That’s what experts call “period poverty”. African governments are aware of the problem: Ethiopia has recently cut down taxes on sanitary products, hoping to address the issue. But some say tax cuts aren’t the way to go and that, first of all, taboos n...

Is the worse still to come? A new variant of coronavirus that scientists think started in South Africa appears to be spreading across the continent. It seems to be more transmissible than the original strain and slightly more resistant to the existing vaccines. Compared to the rest of the world, Africa has seen a relatively low Covid-related death toll. But, in Zimbabwe, Covid cases have tripled s...

Is it time to say “adieu”? France has had troops across the Sahel for years now. They’ve been fighting a number of violent jihadist groups that have spread across the region. Mali is at the centre of their operation, but some people have had enough. They want the French soldiers gone, even if insurgents are unlikely to lay down their weapons. Has the time come for Mali to wave French troops goodby...

Feeding a continent is hard work. To produce enough food for 1.3 billion people is no mean feat, but climate change is making that job even more difficult. As the world is getting hotter, African farmers are in a race against time to find new and ingenious ways to work under increasingly extreme conditions. A Malawian farmer has an idea – but can she succeed? Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Tw...

Is this Museveni’s last dance? Yoweri Museveni may have won a sixth term as Uganda’s president, but his party took a battering in parts of the country. And, as his critics are quick to point out, Museveni’s now 76 – which has led some to wonder whether this might be his victory lap. So what happens now? And what does the turmoil and controversy around the election tell us about Uganda’s future? Ho...

Covid is costing many of us our jobs. An African Union report says as many as 20 million could go as a result of the pandemic. Even before all this began, youth unemployment across Africa was already twice as high as that among older adults. So when economies started slowing down, young workers were the first to feel the pressure. What can African governments do to protect them? Hosted by Alan Kas...

Is Africa on Joe Biden’s mind? Well, he has quite a lot on his plate right now: in just a few hours, he’s being inaugurated as President of the United States. But as the world waves Donald Trump goodbye, many will be wondering how Joe Biden will reshape America’s foreign policy – especially across Africa. What will his arrival mean for the continent? And what can we all expect from him? Hosted by...

The joys and anxieties of returning to Africa. For many people in the diaspora, the decision of returning to Africa does not come naturally – and yet, some are making that journey back. But why? And what’s in it for countries like Ghana, who’ve actively been asking their diaspora to reconnect to the motherland? Hosted by Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja on Twitter), with a special contribution from journali...

Getting 1.3 billion people vaccinated is no easy job. At first glance though, things look optimistic: the Seychelles has already started its vaccination programme and the African Union has secured hundreds of millions of doses to deliver across the continent. But when will they reach the people who need them – and who can expect to receive them first? #AfricaDaily

One question, one story. A new podcast that takes a deep dive into the news shaping Africa. Alan Kasujja leads the way. Join us from 18 January 2021. #AfricaDaily