NPR News -Africa Archives

A vaginal ring that discreetly delivers anti-HIV drugs will reach more women

Design TechDecember 10, 2023043 views

December 8, 20237:32 AM ET
Enlarge this imageThis is the vaginal ring that releases the antiretroviral drug dapivirine to ward off HIV infection. The ring is now going into wider distribution in sub-Saharan Africa, where girls and young women age 15 to 24 accounted for more than 77% of new HIV infections in 2022, according to UNAIDS.

AFP/Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

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AFP/Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

This is the vaginal ring that releases the antiretroviral drug dapivirine to ward off HIV infection. The ring is now going into wider distribution in sub-Saharan Africa, where girls and young women age 15 to 24 accounted for more than 77% of new HIV infections in 2022, according to UNAIDS.

AFP/Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images

Women in a growing number of African countries will soon have access to a vaginal ring to help reduce their risk of acquiring HIV from an infected partner. And they can use it discreetly, without..

There’s backlash over U.K. prime minister’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda

Design TechDecember 10, 2023038 views

December 8, 20235:07 AM ET

NPR’s Steve Inskeep talks to Madeleine Sumption of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, about the British government’s latest plan to send migrants to Rwanda.

It’s one of the biggest experiments in fighting global poverty. Now the results are in

Design TechDecember 10, 2023034 views

December 7, 20239:24 AM ET
Husband and wife Denis and Bentha Otieno at their home in 2017, calculating their monthly budget shortly after they began receiving a monthly grant from the charity GiveDirectly. Researchers are studying whether the grant program — which provides $50 every month over 12 years — can lift people out of poverty.

Nichole Sobecki for NPR

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Nichole Sobecki for NPR

It’s an unprecedented – and massive – experiment: Since 2017 the U.S.-based charity GiveDirectly has been providing thousands of villagers in Kenya what’s called a “universal basic income” – a cash grant of about $50, delivered every month, with the commitment to keep the payments coming for 12 years. It is a crucial test of what many consider one of the most cutting-edge ideas for alleviating global poverty. This week a team of independent researchers who have been studying the impact released their first results.
Their findings cover the..

Secretary of State Blinken has accused warring factions in Sudan of war crimes

Design TechDecember 10, 2023039 views

December 7, 20235:13 AM ET

NPR’s Michel Michel talks with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, about Antony Blinken’s call on the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces to stop the conflict.

People can do more with lump sum of money than payments, experiment in Kenya suggests

Design TechDecember 10, 2023038 views

December 5, 20235:45 PM ET

The first results are in from a charity experiment in Kenya. Those who got a lump sum of money were far more likely to start a business — and earn more — compared to those who got monthly payments.

10 years after Nelson Mandela’s death, his party may soon lose the majority

Design TechDecember 10, 2023033 views

December 5, 20235:34 PM ET

A decade after the death of Nelson Mandela, many South Africans are asking what the anti-apartheid icon would have thought of the current state of the country and the direction it’s heading in.

Nigerian president calls for investigation after army drone strike accident kills 85

Design TechDecember 10, 2023038 views

December 5, 202310:48 AM ET
Enlarge this imageNigerian President Bola Tinubuspeaks at a panel at a G20-led summit for Africa in Berlin in November.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

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Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Nigerian President Bola Tinubuspeaks at a panel at a G20-led summit for Africa in Berlin in November.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s president has ordered an investigation after the country’s military launched a drone strike at a public gathering this weekend, killing at least 85 people and wounding dozens of others.
Villagers in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna state had gathered for the Muslim celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad, when they were hit by the airstrike operated from an armed drone at around 9 p.m. Sunday.
Those killed included children and elderly, according to emergency services, as a search for more bodies continues. Community leaders told local media the death toll was over 90 people, and eyewitn..

These were NPR.org’s biggest international stories in 2023

Design TechDecember 10, 2023037 views

December 5, 20235:08 AM ET
Two major conflicts dominated NPR’s international coverage over the past year: Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s fierce response against the Palestinian militant organization; and the war in Ukraine, which is nearing its second anniversary with no clear outcome in sight.
But in addition to those big news events, we had some surprises among the stories from around the world that were viewed most by our readers:
The Israel-Hamas warEnlarge this imageA salvo of rockets is fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza toward Israel on Oct. 10. Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel started Oct. 7. A senior Hamas official told NPR that its planning was kept a close secret.

Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

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Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

A salvo of rockets is fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza toward Israel on Oct. 10. Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel started Oct. 7. A senior Hamas official told NPR that its planning ..