ADF

The Ebola outbreak exposed weak spots in the continent’s health systems. Officials are determined to fix them. ADF STAFF A meningitis outbreak in Nigeria’s northwest showed the progress that has been made since the Ebola crisis and the work that still remains. Beginning in December 2016, a highly contagious form of cerebral spinal meningitis emerged in Zamfara State. Meningitis is a deadly bacterial infection that swells the spine and the brain, definitely an illness that should be taken seriously, according to the

A conversation with Dr. John Nkengasong of the Africa CDC on how to anticipate the next pandemic ADF STAFF Dr. John Nkengasong is a virologist who has spent his life searching for cures to the world’s deadliest diseases. During a 22-year-career at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, he held numerous posts including chief of the International Laboratory Branch and co-chair of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Laboratory Technical Working Group. A native of Cameroon, he is the founding chairman of the board of directors for the African Society for Laboratory Medicine and previously served as…

To Intervene in Crises and Sustain Missions, African Militaries Must Make Logistics a Priority COL. UDUAK UDOAKA/U.S. AIR FORCE A significant development in the post-Cold War period has been African states’ active involvement in peacekeeping operations. Of the 105,078 personnel deployed in support of nine United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa, more than half are uniformed Africans. Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa have the largest contingents of the 38 African countries contributing peacekeepers. Even states that were once devastated by war, such as Sierra Leone, are now deploying peacekeepers. Despite their provision of troops to U.N. and African-led operations, most African…

The African Standby Force Can Deploy in Times of Natural Disasters, Humanitarian Crises ADF STAFF Africa has for years been working toward creating a force that could respond quickly to security crises anywhere on the continent. Known as the African Standby Force (ASF), it brings to bear 25,000 personnel — 5,000 from each of five Regional Economic Communities (RECs) — to intervene and secure peace during a crisis. Military, police and civilian personnel comprise the ASF. Thousands from all over the continent gathered in Lohatla, South Africa, in October 2015 for Amani Africa II, an exercise to test the readiness…

ADF STAFF Government officials and citizens packed into the stands of Freedom Square in Owerri, Nigeria, on May 29, 2017, to mark an important date in the country’s recent history. Police officers, Nigerian Army personnel and civilians marched through the public square about 80 kilometers north of Port Harcourt in Imo State. But they weren’t there to celebrate a person or a battle; they were celebrating a form of government. The assembled crowds were commemorating Democracy Day, a yearly celebration of the restoration of democracy after years of military rule in the federal republic. The holiday marks May 29, 1999,…

Tracking and Relieving Hunger Can Be a Challenge. The Key for Soldiers? Knowing Their Role By the time the world hears about a famine, it’s probably too late. International aid organizations say early alerts and rapid responses to food shortages are the only ways to save lives. Before the United Nations declared famine in Somalia in 2011, it had issued 16 warnings that danger was imminent. Those warnings mostly were ignored and, by the time famine officially was declared, 120,000 people had died. “Once famine takes root, it’s that much harder to recover,” wrote Aryn Baker in Time magazine. “Yet the call…

Africa’s pastoralists and farmers are in conflict. Boko Haram sees an opportunity. ADF STAFF For generations, Fulani herdsmen have roamed North Africa, grazing their animals. In the 60 years of post-colonial Africa, life for the herdsmen, also known as pastoralists, has become harder, as they compete with farmers for fertile land, often resorting to violence. Since 2000, tens of thousands of people have died in pastoralist-related violence in Nigeria alone. Now, extremists, including the terror group Boko Haram, are attacking the pastoralists and their cattle, all while encouraging them to rebel against the farmers and join the extremists’ causes. The…

The Mosquito-Borne Disease Is a Continental Problem, but a Program is Equipping African Militaries to Fight It ADF STAFF An insidious, debilitating force has attacked tiny Burundi, in Africa’s Great Lakes region. Since the beginning of 2015, there have been 16.8 million cases of malaria reported in the country, according to the United Nations. More than 7,800 people have died in that period, and many more may face a lifetime of relapses and illness, depending on the strain of the disease and the level of treatment they received. The crisis, which officials labeled an epidemic, is a crushing blow to…

Armed Forces Have The Skills And Tools To Respond To Crises ADF STAFF or years, when countries needed their armed forces’ help during natural disasters, the philosophy was “last in, first out” — don’t use them except as a last resort, and use them as little as possible. But that thinking is at odds with the need for a timely response, which is something armed forces are trained to do. The “last resort” thinking, particularly in Africa, has given way to the realization that armies, navies and air forces have a particular set of skills and equipment and can, in…

VOICE OF AMERICA Africa’s largest film festival, FESPACO, celebrated its 25th edition in 2017. The main venue, as always, was the old and respectable Cine Burkina, in the heart of Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou. The city used to have at least nine dedicated cinemas — now only two remain. It is a picture that is repeated across the continent. In Senegal, don’t go looking for the Cinema de Paris, the old film temple at the Place de l’Independence in downtown Dakar. It’s gone. It was knocked down in 2011, and the space it left behind was filled with hotels and…