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Africa Up Close

Africa Up Close is the blog of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Blog of the Africa Program, Africa Up Close provides a nexus for analysis, ideas, and innovation for and from Africa..
  • THE GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM AND THE PROSPECT OF COOPERATION IN THE EASTERN NILE BASIN

    THE GRAND ETHIOPIAN RENAISSANCE DAM AND THE PROSPECT OF COOPERATION IN THE EASTERN NILE BASIN

    The Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) was inaugurated to address the growing socio-economic needs of the country, including saving Ethiopian women from the vicious cycle of the firewood-collecting burden. The Ethiopian rationale for building the GERD raised concern for Egypt— given the potential effects of the huge dam on the farmers and water security of 90 percent of Egyptians who rely entirely on Nile waters.

  • NGO OPERATIONS IN AFRICA’S CONFLICT HOTSPOTS: OBSTACLES, ATTACKS, AND RETRIBUTION

    NGO OPERATIONS IN AFRICA’S CONFLICT HOTSPOTS: OBSTACLES, ATTACKS, AND RETRIBUTION

    Countries that are experiencing severe conflict need NGOs, especially where state capacity to provide social services has broken down and where war has destroyed the lives and livelihoods of citizens. On the flip side, the ability of NGOs to freely operate and program in a country is an essential indicator of the state of respect for civil liberties in any country.

  • CAUSE AND EFFECT: CLIMATE CHANGE AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN EAST AFRICA

    CAUSE AND EFFECT: CLIMATE CHANGE AND GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN EAST AFRICA

    During natural disasters such as drought, women are less likely to receive relief goods and more likely to experience a loss of livelihood compared to men, contributing to higher rates of socioeconomic insecurity, physical vulnerability, and death.

  • WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES POST-COVID-19?

    WHAT ARE THE PROSPECTS FOR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES POST-COVID-19?

    The ability of Africa’s financial sector to boost economic integration plans has been weakened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • FIGHTING HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES THROUGH TRADITIONAL JUSTICE INSTITUTIONS: RETHINKING

    FIGHTING HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICES THROUGH TRADITIONAL JUSTICE INSTITUTIONS: RETHINKING

    Despite some encouraging trends, the challenges of eliminating harmful traditional practices (HTPs) persist in Ethiopia. To curb these practices, in 2015, the Ethiopian government pledged to end child marriage and FGM by 2025. However, social, religious, and cultural drivers significantly complicate the fight against HTPs.

  • WILSON CENTER NAMES OGE ONUBOGU NEW DIRECTOR OF AFRICA PROGRAM

    WILSON CENTER NAMES OGE ONUBOGU NEW DIRECTOR OF AFRICA PROGRAM

    The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has named Oge Onubogu as the new Director of its Africa Program. Onubogu most recently was the Director of the West Africa Program at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), where she led the strategic development and expansion of USIP’s portfolio in Nigeria and Coastal West Africa.

  • THE PRICE OF RUSSIA’S UKRAINE INVASION: AFRICA’S FOOD SECURITY

    THE PRICE OF RUSSIA’S UKRAINE INVASION: AFRICA’S FOOD SECURITY

    Africans, although far away from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, are victims of the economic impacts of this crisis. The cost of petroleum products have skyrocketed, and exchange rate depreciation is a major challenge compounding the rise in global food prices. The war has prevented food exports, which account for 40 percent of the African food supply.

  • AN APPRAISAL OF ETHIOPIA’S ROAD TO DEMOCRACY SINCE 2018

    AN APPRAISAL OF ETHIOPIA’S ROAD TO DEMOCRACY SINCE 2018

    It has been four years since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s accession to power. Yared Debebe Yetena analyzes Ethiopia’s democratic transition under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed over the past four years.

  • REAPING THE BENEFITS OF REFUGEE WOMEN’S PEACEBUILDING EXPERIENCE IN UGANDA FOR SOUTH SUDAN

    REAPING THE BENEFITS OF REFUGEE WOMEN’S PEACEBUILDING EXPERIENCE IN UGANDA FOR SOUTH SUDAN

    “My umbilical cord is buried in South Sudan, and although I am disabled, I want to go back and build my country,” declares Mary, who has lived in Uganda’s Nyumanzi refugee settlement since 2013, when conflict broke out in newly-independent South Sudan. For her and many South Sudanese refugee women living in Uganda, the return home is eagerly anticipated.

  • TURKISH DRONES IN AFRICA: A RISKY TURN IN TURKEY’S AFRICA POLICY

    TURKISH DRONES IN AFRICA: A RISKY TURN IN TURKEY’S AFRICA POLICY

    During his most recent trip to Africa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched a new initiative, the promotion of defense contracts involving the sale of Turkish-made, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

  • YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA: THE EMERGING TRENDS AND CHANGING PERSPECTIVES

    YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA: THE EMERGING TRENDS AND CHANGING PERSPECTIVES

    Monetized politics introduced and sustained by older politicians remain a disincentive for youth participation. The problem has become a dilemma for the extant politicians that are wealthy and influence the system in their favor and the emerging forces of youth agitations in Nigeria.

  • THE AFRICAN UNION’S PART IN ETHIOPIA’S TIGRAY CONFLICT PEACE DEAL

    THE AFRICAN UNION’S PART IN ETHIOPIA’S TIGRAY CONFLICT PEACE DEAL

    After several days during November 2022, the peace deal was the result of several days of mediation talks led by the African Union. Learn more about the AU’s mediation efforts in this blog.

  • NATIONAL DIALOGUE IN ETHIOPIA: KEY ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION

    NATIONAL DIALOGUE IN ETHIOPIA: KEY ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION

    Ethiopia’s National Dialogue must encompass a broad range of stakeholders in all three phases—preparation, process, and implementation—in order for it to succeed. However, there are concerning issues that should be considered before it is too late in the preparatory phase, as the approach taken will influence the ultimate legitimacy of a national dialogue.

  • THE CRUCIAL ROLE THAT REGIONAL ACTORS CAN PLAY IN THE 2023 ZIMBABWE ELECTION

    THE CRUCIAL ROLE THAT REGIONAL ACTORS CAN PLAY IN THE 2023 ZIMBABWE ELECTION

    Although Zimbabwe’s elections are still a couple of years away, many experts believe that in order to make any impactful change, the country’s electoral reforms must begin well in advance, and regional actors play a pivotal role.

  • HOW BIDEN SAVES THE WORLD: HE MUST START BY RETURNING A FAVOR

    HOW BIDEN SAVES THE WORLD: HE MUST START BY RETURNING A FAVOR

    COVID-19 poses many challenges in the U.S. and abroad, President Biden has an opportunity to lead a worldwide initiative to combat the pandemic.

  • THE HISTORY BEHIND SUDAN’S IDENTITY CRISIS

    THE HISTORY BEHIND SUDAN’S IDENTITY CRISIS

    The Black Lives Matter Movement catalyzed conversations about racism and anti-Blackness in America, but it also brought attention to internalized anti-Blackness and colorism in Africa, and Sudan in particular.

  • COVID-19 ADDS TO CHALLENGES OF CURBING CHILD MARRIAGE

    COVID-19 ADDS TO CHALLENGES OF CURBING CHILD MARRIAGE

    The prevalence of early marriage had been declining globally, however, COVID-19 poses challenges to curbing child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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  • Farmers-Herders Conflicts in Nigeria: A Role for FBOs?

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    By Ojemire B. Daniel  // Friday, May 26, 2023
    Lekki,,Lagos,,Nigeria,-,September,18th,2021:,A,Young,Fulani

    This blog was originally posted on NewSecurityBeat, a blog of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Wilson Center.

    Nigeria is home to many violent conflicts, one of which is the farmers-herders conflict that has posed severe security challenges in the country. The human toll of the violence has been immense, claiming more lives than the Boko Haram insurgency. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or displaced. Nigeria has also experienced increased ethnic, regional, and religious polarization, and this crisis has undermined national stability and unity.

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    Topics: New Security Beat, Western Africa
  • Building Peace by Formalizing Gold Mining in the Central Sahel

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    By Jorden de Haan & Aly Diarra  // Thursday, May 25, 2023
    Screen Shot 2023-05-23 at 9.38.10 AM

    This blog was originally posted on NewSecurityBeat, a blog of the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Wilson Center.

    The Central Sahel is increasingly deemed the new epicenter of terrorism, accounting for 35 percent of global terrorism deaths in 2021. Yet as the situation in the region continues to deteriorate, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) both persists and proliferates. For instance, in Mali, where much of the region’s security crisis originates, this conundrum is laid bare.

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    Topics: Central Africa, New Security Beat, Northern Africa
  • Articles in Focus / In the News:

    Dismantling the Regional Special Forces in Ethiopia: Assessing Its Constitutionality

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    By Zelalem Shiferaw Woldemichael  // Wednesday, May 17, 2023

    Blog-Regional-Forces-Featured-Shutterstock_1540929419The Ethiopian federal government’s April 6, 2023, decision to dismantle the special forces (paramilitary forces) of all the country’s regions and reintegrate them into either the national defense force, the federal police, or the respective regional police led to wide public protests in Amhara Region. The incident resulted in human rights violations such as killing individuals by security forces, destruction, and interruption of basic services. Additionally, the internet shutdown continued throughout many parts of the region. The main goal of the decision, according to the federal government, was to strengthen the Ethiopian National Defense Force and enhance its ability to maintain peace and security in the country. On April 15/2015, the government announced its completion of the integration process.

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    Topics: Articles in Focus, Eastern Africa, In the News, Stay Informed
  • In the News:

    Why Sudan’s Return to Civilian Rule Can’t be a Short-Term Project

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    By Ruth Namatovu  // Friday, May 5, 2023

    Blog-Featured-Sudan-ConflictThe rivalry between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which helped overthrow Sudan’s civilian administration in October 2021, derives from the two sides’ disagreements on how to begin a new internationally backed transition with civilian groups. In early April 2023, a final agreement was supposed to be signed to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the fall of long-reigning despot Omar al-Bashir by a popular revolt. The arrangement called for the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF deputy General, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti) to transfer control. Two issues, however, stood out as being very divisive: the first was the precise date the army would be fully placed under civilian control; the second was the timeline for the RSF’s integration into the regular armed forces.

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    Topics: In the News, Northern Africa, Stay Informed
  • In the News:

    Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act Isn’t Just a Human Rights Crisis–It’s a Public Health Crisis

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    By Amanda Clark  // Wednesday, May 3, 2023

    Blog-Featured-Uganda-LGBT-featuredpng 

    On March 21, Uganda’s Parliament passed the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill, widely hailed as among the world’s harshest anti-gay laws. Though same-sex relations were already illegal in the country, this bill further cracks down on LGBTQ+ rights. It imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” (including sex when the “offender” is a person living with HIV), mandates life in prison for those convicted of homosexual relations, instates a 20-year prison sentence for the promotion or abetting of homosexuality, and requires by law that family, friends, neighbors, and healthcare workers report the homosexual relations of their loved ones or face up to six months of jail time.

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    Topics: Eastern Africa, In the News, Stay Informed
  • Lessons from the Field:

    Who is in Charge? Power Dynamics and Aid in Africa

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    By Susanna Campbell, ’Dapo Oyewole & Haley Swedlund  // Wednesday, May 3, 2023

    Image-AFR-Blog-Foreign-Aid-01Are power dynamics in international aid changing? In 2020, the racial justice movement called out the entrenchment of racism in national and international systems, including in foreign aid. Activists and aid workers alike called on the aid industry to stop perpetuating a global system that places wealthy donor countries in positions of power and poorer developing countries as passive recipients.

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    Topics: Lessons from the Field, Stay Informed
  • In the News / Lessons from the Field:

    Vice President Harris in Ghana: Lessons from a Visit to Cape Coast

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    By Donna Patterson  // Wednesday, April 19, 2023

    Blog-Featured-VP-Harris-Trip-01

    Vice President Kamala Harris recently made her first official trip to the African continent. Harris traveled to Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia for a weeklong visit. During the White House’s African Leaders Summit in December 2022, the Biden administration promised to make multiple high-level trips to Africa. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) traveled to different African countries this year. Vice President Harris is the highest-ranking Biden administration official to travel to Africa thus far, and President Biden plans to make a visit later this year.

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    Topics: Governance and Emerging Global Challenges, In the News, Lessons from the Field, U.S. - Africa Policy, Western Africa
  • Articles in Focus:

    Ethiopia’s Tigray War and its Devastating Impact on Tigrayan Children’s Education

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    By Anonymous  // Tuesday, April 18, 2023

    Image-AFR-Blog-Tigray-School-Featured-01The Ethiopia’s Tigray war was an armed conflict that lasted from November 2020 to November 2022. The war was primarily fought in the Tigray region of Ethiopia between the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigrayan forces on the other. After years of increased tensions and hostilities between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Ethiopian government declared war after accusing Tigrayan forces of attacking the Ethiopian defense force’s northern command base. The war, initially limited to the Tigray region, was expanded to the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara, affecting more than 20 million people, of which nearly three quarters were women and children, and 5.5 million have been forced to flee their homes and take refuge in other regions within Ethiopia.

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    Topics: Articles in Focus, Eastern Africa
  • Southern Voices:

    The Impact of Deforestation on Medicinal Plant Species in Africa

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    By Amanda Clark  // Wednesday, March 29, 2023
    A plot of land that was in the process of being cleared for agriculture in Kenya. Photo by Amanda Clark

    A plot of land that was in the process of being cleared for agriculture in Kenya. Photo by Amanda Clark

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 70 to 80% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on herbal medicine as their primary form of health care. In some countries, the rates are even higher—in Ethiopia and Burundi, 90% of the population uses traditional medicine to meet their healthcare needs. Other communities use traditional medicine as a supplement to modern (or Western) medical practices–one study shows that 76% of members of Kenya’s Kuku Ranch use both herbal and modern medicine in tandem.¹ Most forms of traditional medicine are herbal or plant-based and thus rely on the accessibility of plant resources.

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    Topics: Southern Voices, Stay Informed
  • Implementing the Second Ten-Year Plan of Agenda 2063: Areas to Focus On

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    By Nebiyu Daniel Meshesha  // Wednesday, March 29, 2023

    African Union headquarters

    It has been a decade since African leaders envisioned a fifty-year transformational plan, Agenda 2063, by signing the 50th-anniversary solemn declaration at the African Union (AU) Summit held in Addis Ababa in May 2013. Agenda 2063, under the auspices of the AU, guides the continental, regional, and national development plans to transform the continent with sustainable development.

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    Topics: Governance and Emerging Global Challenges, Stay Informed
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