ADF

ADF STAFF | Photos by AFP/Getty Images Early in the 2018 Ebola epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), contact tracers used paper forms, filling them out each day for every contact made. At the end of the day, tracers turned in the paperwork to their supervisors, who alerted doctors if any of the contacts showed signs of Ebola. The process was slow, tedious and bureaucratic. The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that paperwork also drew unnecessary and unwelcome attention to contact tracers. Sometimes, people chased them away. Contact tracers later traded their papers for mobile phones.…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS An abandoned quarry in Nigeria has become a tourist hot spot after images were posted on social media in August 2020. Photos of the rocky cliffs climbing into a blue sky, a moss-lined footpath, small green hills and a lake that shimmers in the sun have been shared all over the world. Days after the post, the site, known as Crushed Rock, in Mpape, a neighborhood outside the capital, Abuja, was thronged. There have been a DJ stand, food vendors, hundreds of sunbathing selfie-takers and a band of classical musicians. The COVID-19 pandemic also has encouraged…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Activists aiming to maintain traditional culture have pledged $1 million to help the people of central Mali’s Mopti region restore parts of their heritage, which has been threatened by armed conflict. The United Nations’ cultural organization, UNESCO, is working with the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas to support rehabilitation of the Cliff of Bandiagara, also known as the Land of the Dogons, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989. The area is known for its homes carved into the limestone rock and the architecture, as well as the…

VOICE OF AMERICA South Africa’s Market Theatre is one of several African cultural institutions that has gone entirely online because of COVID-19 restrictions that prevent large gatherings. This small institution has seen other difficult times. It often is known as the “Theater of the Struggle” for its flouting of apartheid-era laws after opening in 1976. Now, theater staff members hope their artistic message, which touches on current events, will resonate beyond Africa. Artistic director James Ngcobo said the acclaimed theater, which has received 21 international awards for its work, is seizing the opportunity to spread its stories beyond this country…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Tanzanian pop star Diamond Platnumz has become the first Sub-Saharan African singer to get 1 billion views on his YouTube channel. Over the past 10 years, the 30-year-old award-winning musician has popularized “bongo flava,” a uniquely Tanzanian offering. The music has romantic melodies with an urban beat influenced by traditional taarab music from the East African coast. “Diamond Platnumz is very hard working and has great showmanship,” says DJ Edu, who hosts the weekly pan-African music show This Is Africa for BBC World Service. With more than 43% of Tanzania’s 55 million people having access to…

ADF STAFF Cyber security experts say Africa’s top smartphone brand has sold tens of thousands of phones loaded with malicious software. The phones drain users’ data, sign them up for subscription services without their knowledge, and make them unwilling accomplices in fraudulent ad schemes. The Triada malware turned up on Chinese-made Tecno W2 smartphones in Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa, according to a report. Triada uses a hard-to-remove program known as x-Helper to do its dirty work, experts say. In addition to creating fake subscriptions, the malware generates fake clicks on banner ads in the background of sites that…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Asseta Rouamba was one of thousands fleeing extremist violence in Burkina Faso’s troubled north when her daughter contracted malaria, putting the pair in an even more desperate situation. “We are exposed. In addition to the precariousness of our shelter, there are food and health difficulties,” the 74-year-old said inside a white tent at a health center outside the northeastern city of Kaya. “This center has welcomed us with free care, which has been a huge relief.” Kaya, the capital of the Centre-Nord region, has been overwhelmed with an influx of people forced to flee their homes by a…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE A Tunisian startup is developing a 3D-printed bionic hand, hoping the affordable and solar-powered prosthetic will help amputees and other disabled people across Africa. Unlike traditional devices, the artificial hand can be customized for children who otherwise would require an expensive series of resized models as they grow. The company Cure Bionics also has plans to develop a video-gamelike virtual reality system that helps youngsters learn how to use the artificial hand through physical therapy. Mohamed Dhaouafi, the 28-year-old founder and CEO of Cure Bionics, designed his first prototype while still an engineering student in his home city…

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE About 70 armed groups have agreed to a cease-fire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) South Kivu province, a flashpoint in the country’s troubled east. “All the armed groups of South Kivu agree to a cessation of hostilities and to instruct their respective members,” read a statement issued after a meeting in Murhesa near the provincial capital, Bukavu. The three-day meeting, attended by DRC Deputy Defence Minister Sylvain Mutombo, was co-organized by U.S. conflict-resolution group Search for Common Ground. A similar meeting was held in December 2019 at the same venue, when 32 local armed groups…

ADF STAFF Sudan and South Sudan have signed a joint defense and military cooperation agreement, the latest indication of improved relations between the two countries. The deal will allow the countries to work together on issues such as border security and countertrafficking.  South Sudanese Defence Minister Angelina Teny and Sudanese Defense Minister Ibrahim Yassin signed the deal on October 29, 2020, in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. It outlines a plan to pursue joint training, information exchanges, promotion of peace, working on disaster response and combating cross-border crimes.  “The two heads of state are the ones leading these efforts,” Teny said, referencing…