Dispatches

Migration has marked Uganda as a country of destination and transit as well as of origin. Responding to political violence, economic problems, and humanitarian crises both within its borders and in South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and other neighbouring countries, migrants and refugees have traveled to, through, and out of Uganda in large numbers over the years. As of April 2018, estimates of refugees living in Uganda stood at about 1.4 million – more than any other African country.

Despite their country’s tremendous reserves of bauxite, iron ore, gold, and diamonds, 55% of Guineans live under the poverty line. Growth in the mining sector has not trickled down to average citizens, many of whom face a dearth of jobs, frequent power cuts, and inadequate supplies of drinking water (Republic of Guinea, 2017). Government efforts, over the past five years, to curtail public spending, improve budget management, and enhance economic growth have not produced lower living costs, and public frustration is growing (United Nations Development Programme, 2019).

The political, economic, and social inequality of women in Africa has fueled significant international discourse since the 1950s, when the United Nations (UN) began interrogating the effects of harmful traditional practices on women across the continent. Human-rights groups have attempted to put pressure on African governments to promote women’s access to education, health care, economic opportunities, and participation in governance and politics (Murungu, 2017). UN member states made the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment their Sustainable Development Goal No.

Cabo Verde há muito que goza de uma reputação de transparência financeira e de severas sanções contra a fraude, reforçadas pelo seu banco central independente, pelo poder judiciário independente e pelo Tribunal de Contas (Banco Africano de Desenvolvimento, 2012).

Cabo Verde has long enjoyed a reputation for financial transparency and severe sanctions against fraud, bolstered by its independent central bank, independent judiciary, and Court of Auditors (African Development Bank, 2012).

The threat that climate change represents for Uganda and its economic development has been documented for years (Hepworth & Goulden, 2009; Tol, 2009). The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative Index (2019) ranks Uganda as the 15th-most-vulnerable country in the world to climate change, and the 49th-least-prepared country to combat its effects.

La corruption freine le développement économique et démocratique, et à Madagascar elle est présente autant dans la sphère politique que dans les services publics. C’est pourquoi, depuis 2004, le pays s’est engagé dans la lutte contre la corruption en se dotant de plusieurs institutions comme le Bureau Indépendant Anti-Corruption (BIANCO), le Service de Renseignement Financier de Madagascar (SAMIFIN), le Comité pour la Sauvegarde de l’Intégrité (CSI), et le Pôle Anti-Corruption (PAC).

La situation économique du Niger a connu des variations dont l’impact s’est ressenti sur les conditions de vie des citoyens. De 2012 à 2016, le taux de croissance de l’économie nigérienne est passé de 11,8% à 5% avec un taux moyen de 6,7%. Ce taux est proche du niveau de 7% jugé nécessaire pour permettre un essor réel de l’économie nigérienne et réduire significativement le niveau de pauvreté (République du Niger, 2017).

Since its democratic revolution in 2010/2011, a number of violent attacks have disrupted Tunisia’s traditional tranquillity. Two political assassinations in 2013 (Al Jazeera, 2013) were followed in 2015 by Islamic State (ISIL) attacks at the Bardo Museum, a Sousse beach resort, and downtown Tunis, killing 72 people (BBC News, 2017). In 2016, ISIL fighters seeking to establish an “emirate” in southern Tunisia killed 18 security-service members and civilians before being repulsed (Arab Weekly, 2019).

Le Sénégal a enregistré entre 2014 et 2016 une série de découvertes des ressources pétrolières et gazières au large de ses cotes. Ces vagues de nouvelles ont suscitées un engouement du côté des politiques mais aussi des populations. Au-delà des passions suscitées par cette question, il est particulièrement important de connaitre l’opinion de la population sur les conséquences aussi réjouissantes que dangereuses qui peuvent en résulter.  En effet, les rapports entre l’expansion de ressources naturelles et la bonne gouvernance revêtent deux facettes.

Le paysage médiatique guinéen a tardé à se structurer. La libéralisation des ondes n’a eu lieu que récemment et s’est déroulée dans un contexte politique très instable et souvent violent. Dans cet environnement, qui a impacté la situation économique du pays, le secteur médiatique tente de se développer afin de rattraper son retard structurel, technologique, et institutionnel.

Depois de dois ciclones deixando morte e devastação em seu rastro (eNCA, 2019a; 2019b), Moçambique enfrenta um perigo pós-desastre – a cólera. Embora endêmicas em Moçambique, as infeções por cólera dispararam após as recentes tempestades, levando o Ministério da Saúde e parceiros internacionais a lançar campanhas maciças de vacinação (Organização Mundial da Saúde, 2019a; Mbah, 2019).

After two cyclones leaving death and devastation in their wake (eNCA, 2019a; 2019b), Mozambique faces a post-disaster danger – cholera. While endemic to Mozambique, cholera infections skyrocketed after the recent storms, leading the Ministry of Health and international partners to launch massive vaccination campaigns (World Health Organization, 2019a; Mbah, 2019). 

As South Africa’s KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape provinces began digging out mud and floodwaters, President Cyril Ramaphosa was surely not alone in blaming climate change for last week’s deadly disaster (Times Live, 2019; France24, 2019).

In response to public protests against a drastic increase in fuel prices in January 2019, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) were joined by the army in a brutal crackdown that resulted in at least 15 deaths, 340 injured, and more than 1,000 arrests (Mwananyanda, 2019; Bearak, 2019). 

Un phénomène rare avant la crise politique de 2009, la pratique de la vindicte populaire semble augmenter à Madagascar. Du Nord au Sud, de nombreuses régions sont concernées par la volonté de la population elle-même de punir des agressions sexuelles, des dahalo (bandits), des vols à la tire, et autres délits. Des cas remarquables ont montré que le lynchage peut s’abattre sur n’importe quel individu lambda soupçonné d’avoir commis un délit (Madagascar Matin, 2016; Mada-actus.info, 2018).

Sudan’s mass protests that ended the 30-rule of President Omar al-Bashir in April started last December with citizens unhappy about the high price of food (BBC News, 2019a).

And while the protest movement grew beyond its initial economic agenda to demand fundamental political change, one certainty amid the dramatic events in Khartoum is that the country’s deep-seated economic problems will still be awaiting solutions by whichever military or civilian leadership take up the reins.

In his first State of the Nation Address, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (2018) announced “a new dawn” signaling the end of “all the negativity that has dogged our country,” including perceptions of widespread corruption under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma.

A igualdade de género está consagrada na Constituição de Moçambique e é promovida através da sua participação em convenções e tratados internacionais assim como no seu Código da Família de 2004, o qual requer igualdade na propriedade e legislação familiar, incluindo a partilha dos bens no casamento (Federação Internacional para os Direitos Humanos; ONU Mulheres, 2012).

Gender equality is enshrined in Mozambique’s Constitution and promoted through its participation in international conventions and treaties as well as its 2004 Family Code, which requires equality in property and family law, including sharing of assets within marriage (International Federation for Human Rights, 2007; UN Women, 2012).

Africa has long been characterized as a continent of strong societies and weak states (Migdal, 1988; Chickering & Haley, 2007; Henn, 2016). This image suggests that, compared to an informal sector rich in networks of self-help, mutual aid, and private entrepreneurship, public sector institutions are ineffective at getting things done. As a set of formal structures imported during colonial rule, the centralized state for decades remained “suspended in mid-air” – that is, above society – with limited aptitude to address the everyday needs of ordinary Africans (Hyden, 1983; Boone, 2006).

Access to land is a contentious issue in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, a legacy of colonialism and accompanying dispossession. While neighbouring South Africa has moved toward expropriation without compensation (Ngcukaitobi, 2018; Pather, 2018), Namibia’s debate has highlighted the need for urban land and housing to accommodate continuing rural-to-urban migration (Delgado & Lühl, 2018; Remmert & Ndhlovu, 2018).

By 2050, it is projected that one in every four humans will be African as the continent doubles its population, accounting for more than half of global population growth (United Nations, 2015; World Economic Forum, 2017). Even with a land mass greater than India, China, the United States, and Europe combined, and blessed with one-third of the earth’s mineral resources (Custers & Mattlysen, 2009; Bermudez-Lugo et al., 2014), will Africa be able to provide the livelihood opportunities its people demand and need?

Health is the most important problem that Burkinabe want their government to address, according to the most recent Afrobarometer public-opinion survey. Despite significant progress, the National Economic and Social Development Plan (Burkina Faso, 2016) notes persistent challenges with regard to the quality of health-care services in the country as well as access to services, human resources, infrastructure, and regional inequalities.

L’éducation est reconnue essentielle pour le développement d’un pays et fait partie des Objectifs de Développement Durable (ODD) définies par les Nations Unies, comme l’ODD 4 pour une éducation de qualité. Pour Madagascar, l’état a entrepris une restructuration de l’éducation, portant sur l’aspect pédagogique et organisationnel du secteur.

على مستوى المساراتالمعقدةللهجرةالدولية،يعدالمغرببلدا استثنائيالكونهيشكل موطنا لنشأة المهاجرين و لعبورهم و  10 استلامهم .يشكلالمغاربةالذين يعيشون ببلدان المهجرالنسبةالعاشرةعلى المستوىالعالمي،حيثتصلهذه النسبة علىحوالي ) .

In the complex web of international migration, Morocco has the unusual distinction of being an origin and transit and receiving country. Morocco’s own diaspora is the 10th-largest in the world, making up about 10% of its population (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2018). For decades, Morocco has also been a popular transit country for migrants seeking to cross to Europe; in 2018, the European External Action Service (2018) recorded more than 57,000 sub-Saharan and North Africans who arrived in Spain through Morocco.

In an interconnected world, migration is inevitable and complex, a source of opportunity and challenge for countries of both origin and destination (International Organization for Migration, 2018; Food and Agriculture Organization, 2017; Boghean, 2016). In recent years, migration has become a high-visibility policy issue around the globe, including in Africa, as tens of thousands have made their way to Europe and hundreds have died trying or been subjected to mistreatment, even sold as slaves (BBC News, 2017; International Organization for Migration, 2015). 

After more than a half-century as a single nation with a dual colonial heritage and two official languages – French and English – Cameroon is in danger of coming apart. Protests against perceived discrimination and lack of inclusion began peacefully in the anglophone regions in October 2016 but have escalated into violent conflict with a harsh government response (Africa Times, 2018; Morse, 2017; Confédération Suisse, 2018).

In Togo, the military is a very influential political actor. In 1967, a military coup installed Eyadema Gnassingbé as president, and he held power until his death in 2005. Immediately after his death, Eyadema’s son, Faure Gnassingbé, was declared president with the support of the Army.