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Senegal’s southern Casamance region has long been isolated from the more populous north by a geographic peculiarity: The Gambia, and the namesake river that runs most of its length. In January 2019, the presidents of both nations celebrated the opening of a bridge that spans the river, linking both banks of The Gambia and the two regions of Senegal. The Trans-Gambia Corridor bridge ends years of isolation and difficult travel for people in the two nations along both sides of the river. “Given the geography of The Gambia and Senegal with a river dividing both countries in two halves, I…

As the Stubborn Disease Continues in the DRC, Responders Must Build Trust to Succeed Dr. Jean-Christophe Shako went to Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to fight a fierce and dangerous enemy. But first he needed to make a friend. Shako, Ebola response coordinator in the eastern DRC town, is a veteran of four Ebola outbreaks in Africa. He wrote of his experiences with the current disease crisis in February 2019 for The New Humanitarian, an online news outlet. He recalled his team’s experience in Guinea during the height of the West African pandemic in 2014. It was then…

Institutions Look for New Methods to Produce Better Peacekeepers Peacekeeping is sometimes called a paradox because it requires the ability to use force and the restraint not to use it. Former United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold summed up the challenge when he said: “Peacekeeping is not a job for Soldiers, but only Soldiers can do it.” Modern peacekeepers face daunting tasks. They must deploy to a foreign country where they may not speak the language. They must quickly assess the situation on the ground, where a war has just been fought or is ongoing. They must encourage dialogue between warring…

U.N. Peacekeeping Operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia Offer Lessons From Challenges Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia share more than a border. The two West African nations have a recent history of civil war and upheaval. Both also had United Nations peacekeeping missions to help them pick up the pieces after the conflicts. The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) began September 19, 2003, immediately after the second Liberian civil war, which started in 1999. The first civil war raged from 1989 to 1996. UNMIL’s job was to support the cease-fire agreement; protect U.N. staff members, civilians and infrastructure; protect humanitarian…

Recurring Weather Events Can Intensify Security Issues On a continent prone to a wide range of environmental disasters, tropical Cyclone Idai stood out. The exceptionally devastating storm plowed into southeastern Africa on March 15, 2019, bringing fury to Mozambique, as well as neighbors Malawi and Zimbabwe. The storm might be the worst disaster to strike the Southern Hemisphere, the United Nations said. A month later, Mercy Corps reported that the cyclone had left an estimated 3 million people needing humanitarian assistance and killed more than 1,000, with hundreds more missing. By April 25, 2019, Cyclone Kenneth was slamming into Mozambican…

From plowing fields to repairing sewage plants, Soldiers are redefining their roles The Vaal River in central South Africa is an environmental disaster, threatening the health of 19 million residents who live downstream. Its fate is in the hands of unlikely environmental warriors — the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). In September 2018, the South African Human Rights Commission inspected the river after allegations that 150 million liters of untreated sewage were spilling into it each day. The commission said, “The site inspection has revealed a prima facie violation of the rights of access to clean water, clean environment…

Cameroon’s top female football star has opened an academy to teach the sport to girls. The academy is the first of its kind in the country, where football is still largely considered a boys’ sport. Gaelle Enganamouit, a 27-year-old football star, never had any formal training. But she said having a football academy for girls will develop Cameroon’s players into world stars. “The foundation has as its objective to promote women’s football so we can see the impact.” she said. “In 2016 here with the African Cup, I was so impressed. I said I have the opportunity to open this…

To “showcase the best African narratives,” some artists and writers have teamed up to publish comic books in print and online. They also are experimenting with augmented reality products. Nigerians Ziki Nelson and Tolu Foyeh, along with Ugandan Hamid Ibrahim, have started Kugali Media, based in London and Lagos, Nigeria. All three men are under 30. Their flagship product, Kugali Anthology, is a collection of comics by contributors from across the continent and the diaspora. They also are testing augmented reality (AR), similar to Pokémon Go, a game that is downloaded onto smartphones and combines visuals of computer-generated characters with…

Senegal has opened its new $34 million Museum of Black Civilizations in the capital, Dakar. It follows calls from Senegal and other African nations for France to return art it looted during the colonial era. Among the first temporary exhibitions to be shown are works from artists from Mali and Burkina Faso as well as from Cuba and Haiti. The idea of establishing the museum dates back more than 50 years, to Senegal’s late poet-president, Léopold Sédar Senghor. Along with Martinican writer Aimé Césaire, Senghor was a creative force behind the philosophy of Négritude, which promoted black culture, heritage and…

BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS Netflix is to launch its first African original series in 2020. Queen Sono is “a drama about a secret agent who fights crime while dealing with crises in her personal life,” according to entertainment news magazine Variety. The star of the series, South African actor Pearl Thusi, says it’s “going to change the game for every artist on this continent.” Queen Sono is the brainchild of director Kagiso Lediga and executive producer Tamsin Andersson, who previously worked together on Catching Feelings, a romantic comedy. Netflix plans to invest more of its $8 billion original production budget…