ADF

ADF STAFF A vaccine process tested in Burkina Faso and Mali could reduce malaria illnesses and deaths by 70%, scientists say. The drug trial focused on giving young children a modified version of a vaccine that has been used for 20 years, along with administering anti-malarial drugs at the time of year when children are most vulnerable. In West Africa, malaria spreads as the rainy season begins, about June, when mosquitoes breed and bite. Researchers said they were surprised at how effective the combination of vaccine and drugs turned out to be. The tests spanned three years. Scientists said that…

ADF STAFF Tanzania has plans to boost its “blue economy,” the sustainable use of ocean resources to support tourism, jobs and environmental protection. But before that can happen, the country has to come to grips with illegal fishing. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is stripping Africa of its natural resources.   Tanzanian Livestock and Fisheries Minister Mashimba Ndaki said officials are determined to tighten current fishing industry regulations. “Unfortunately, there are still dishonest and greedy fishermen in the country who are helping aliens to smuggle fish and other products outside the country, as well as engaging in fishing using prohibited…

ADF STAFF A cellphone app is helping Kenyan farmers diversify their crops and improve yields, despite the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. DigiFarm helps farmers source supplies such as seeds and fertilizer. It also helps with insurance, loans to diversify crops and market access. It even helps plan for extreme weather such as droughts and floods. DigiFarm, a free service from telecommunications giant Safaricom, was launched in 2017, but most of its 1.4 million users signed up after the pandemic hit, Elizabeth Mudogo of DigiFarm told The Star of Kenya. The app recently expanded into Nigeria and Tanzania.…

ADF STAFF Ugandans traveling to neighboring South Sudan no longer require visas to enter the country. The move reciprocates one taken by Uganda in September 2021 to scrap visa entry requirements for South Sudanese. South Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng confirmed the development and said that his country’s decision was in line with requirements of the East African Community (EAC). The EAC is a regional intergovernmental organization with headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda are the other member states. In July 2021, South Sudan and Kenya also scrapped visas for their nationals traveling between…

ADF STAFF An Ashanti woman who shamed her tribe’s warriors into standing up for themselves more than 100 years ago has become a symbol of freedom for Ghana. Nana Yaa Asantewaa’s actions provoked the final Anglo-Ashanti war, known as the War of the Golden Stool. In 1752, the British established a trading colony they called the Gold Coast on the Gulf of Guinea. It would become their hub for African trade which included gold, diamonds, wood, ivory, cocoa and grain. By the late 1800s, the British continued to expand their territory into local kingdoms and forced tribal leaders to submit…

CLUES The name of this valley translates to “fountain of doubt.” The site is best known for having one of the largest collections of petroglyphs (rock engravings) in Africa. Figures on rocks include elephants, ostriches, giraffes, people and footprints. Some are from the late Stone Age. The rock art provides an extensive record of hunter-gatherer community rituals covering at least 2,000 years. ANSWER  Twyfelfontein (formally known as /Ui-//aes) in the Damara highland, Namibia

ADF STAFF Benin’s military is working to reassure communities in its northern border areas that it can protect the region from further terrorist incursions from Burkina Faso, Mali and elsewhere in the Sahel. “The Beninese army is sufficiently equipped to ward off all the scourges that can disturb the tranquility of the Beninese,” Alain Fortunet Nouatin, Benin’s minister of defense, recently told africanews.com. Long considered one of West Africa’s most stable nations, Benin has seen its stability threatened since terrorists based in Mali attacked the border town of Porga in December 2021. That attack came after multiple reports of extremists moving…

ADF STAFF Aidu Williams has spent 40 years fishing in Goderich wharf on the western axis of Sierra Leone’s Freetown peninsula. He used to go to sea and return with large coolers full of grouper and snapper in his wooden canoe, but those days are over. Over the past three decades, foreign industrial trawlers have diminished fish populations near shore. Williams and other artisanal fishermen now must venture farther out to sea, often returning with little or no catch. With so much money spent on fuel, crews sometimes go unpaid after working backbreaking hours on the water. “Before, we experienced…

ADF STAFF The word “momentum” was repeated often during the first in-person Naval Infantry Leaders Symposium-Africa (NILS-A) held in Dakar, Senegal. For security leaders attending it reflects a growing consensus of the need to build partnerships and invest in the naval infantry, which is at the “tip of the spear” in the continent’s toughest fights against terrorism, trafficking and piracy in its littoral zones. “We all came here for the same reason: to defend freedom,” said Maj. Gen. Tracy King, the commander U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa. “I sense the momentum in this room from we 30 nations…

ADF STAFF Increasing attacks in northern Togo have targeted civilians and military personnel — yet another sign of Sahel terror groups progressively expanding and threatening coastal West Africa. Togo declared a “state of security emergency” in its northern border Savanes region on June 13, 2022, in response to the first deadly terrorist attack in the country’s history in early May. “It [the state of emergency] will enhance the speed of decision making and facilitate greater agility for public services and defense and security forces,” the government said in a statement. Minister of Communication Akodah Ayewouadan said the state of emergency…