NPR News -Africa

A new home for the African diaspora in Ghana stirs tensions

February 25, 20245:00 AM ET
Enlarge this image74-year-old Lenval Skiers at his home in Pan-African Village, in Asebu.

Jude Lartey for NPR

hide caption

toggle caption

Jude Lartey for NPR

74-year-old Lenval Skiers at his home in Pan-African Village, in Asebu.

Jude Lartey for NPR

ASEBU, Ghana — Nestled in the sleepy town of Asebu, a few miles inland from the Atlantic along Ghana’s Cape Coast, lies a serene 5,000 acre rural settlement. A mud road at the entrance weaves through a dense, green landscape of dozens of homes and partially built concrete structures, enveloped by miles of farmland and palm trees.
“Nobody’s ever lived here before,” says 74-year-old Lenval Skiers, from the sun-lit lounge of his six-bedroom home and guesthouse. “It was me alone in the forest. It was idle land, but I braved it.” From his wide-set balcony on the second floor, Skiers points to his large garden, full of clusters of cassava, avocado and sugar cane. Beyond lies Pan-African Village, a..

Read more

Kenyans demand justice — and a new kind of law — for the brutal murders of women

February 16, 202410:58 AM ET
Content Warning: The following story references graphic violence and descriptions of murder.
Enlarge this imageActivists march through the Central Business District of Nairobi on Jan. 27 at a demonstration calling for government action to address the murders of young women.

Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

Activists march through the Central Business District of Nairobi on Jan. 27 at a demonstration calling for government action to address the murders of young women.

Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images

Hashtags like #WeAreNotSafe, #StopKillingWomen and #EndFemicideKE are trending in Kenya.
They reflect an intense national debate over a series of murders that have rocked the country. In the month of January, 30 women were murdered, according to data compiled by the grassroots organization Usikimye (Swahili for “don’t be silent”), whose mission is to end gender-based violence, workin..

Read more

Resurging violence in Democratic Republic of Congo forces thousands to flee

February 16, 20245:10 AM ET
The brutal decades-long conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is moving into a new phase, and the city of Goma is in the crosshairs of the violence.
Enlarge this imageThousands who are fleeing the ongoing conflict between government forces and M-23 rebels reach the entrance the Democratic Republic of Congo eastern city of Goma.

Moses Sawasawa/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Moses Sawasawa/AP

Thousands who are fleeing the ongoing conflict between government forces and M-23 rebels reach the entrance the Democratic Republic of Congo eastern city of Goma.

Moses Sawasawa/AP

Ruth Alonga and Sammy Mupfuni in Goma

Read more

Ebola vaccine cuts death rates in half — even if it’s given after infection

February 15, 202412:43 PM ET
Enlarge this imageJanine Kibwana, Ebola survivor and mother of five, sits in her living room in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Researchers studying the DRC’s most recent Ebola outbreak say that a new vaccine can dramatically reduce the risk of dying from the disease.

John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

Janine Kibwana, Ebola survivor and mother of five, sits in her living room in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Researchers studying the DRC’s most recent Ebola outbreak say that a new vaccine can dramatically reduce the risk of dying from the disease.

John Wessels/AFP via Getty Images

There’s welcome news in the battle against the Ebola virus, an infectious disease that for years had almost no treatments or remedies.
Outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus flare up in parts of Africa almost every year, and they’re vicious.
“When you see a person who has Ebola, you don’t nee..

Read more

Watching the Africa cup of Nations soccer final in a bar in Lagos

February 12, 20244:22 PM ET
While millions of fans were watching the super bowl in the U.S., billions have been watching the African cup of nations soccer tournament and Sunday’s final between hosts Cote D’Ivoire and Nigeria.
Enlarge this imageCote D’Ivoire players celebrate after winning the African Cup of Nations final soccer match between Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire, at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Sunday, Feb. 11

Sunday Alamba/AP

hide caption

toggle caption

Sunday Alamba/AP

Cote D’Ivoire players celebrate after winning the African Cup of Nations final soccer match between Nigeria and Cote D’Ivoire, at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpe in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Sunday, Feb. 11

Sunday Alamba/AP

Read more

An account from the frontline of ‘the largest displacement of children on the planet’

February 12, 20249:05 AM ET
Enlarge this imageFighters ride in a vehicle moving in a military convoy accompanying the governor of Sudan’s Darfur State on Aug. 30, 2023.

AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

AFP via Getty Images

Fighters ride in a vehicle moving in a military convoy accompanying the governor of Sudan’s Darfur State on Aug. 30, 2023.

AFP via Getty Images

The United Nations warns that the conflict in Sudan has caused one of the world’s largest human displacements.
It began about 10 months ago, when the Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group began fighting each other for political control.
Last week, the U.N. pleaded for more aid to the region. It said the fighting had displaced more than 10 million people — many of them fleeing to neighboring countries. It’s also left 18 million people facing acute food insecurity.
Africa Sudan’s war passed 6 months, with much of the world consumed by other conflictsJames Elder is a spokesperso..

Read more

An account from the frontline of ‘the largest displacement of children on the planet’

February 12, 20249:05 AM ET
Enlarge this imageFighters ride in a vehicle moving in a military convoy accompanying the governor of Sudan’s Darfur State on Aug. 30, 2023.

AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

AFP via Getty Images

Fighters ride in a vehicle moving in a military convoy accompanying the governor of Sudan’s Darfur State on Aug. 30, 2023.

AFP via Getty Images

The United Nations warns that the conflict in Sudan has caused one of the world’s largest human displacements.
It began about 10 months ago, when the Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group began fighting each other for political control.
Last week, the U.N. pleaded for more aid to the region. It said the fighting had displaced more than 10 million people — many of them fleeing to neighboring countries. It’s also left 18 million people facing acute food insecurity.
Africa Sudan’s war passed 6 months, with much of the world consumed by other conflictsJames Elder is a spokesperso..

Read more