Sierra Leone

ADF STAFF A time-worn military adage says: “Amateurs talk strategy; professionals talk logistics.” Experienced leaders know that without solid logistics, any military plan is destined to fail. That philosophy was at the heart of the 2024…

ADF STAFF Ernest Fornah, 32, is among Sierra Leone’s growing number of kush addicts. He smokes the drug four times a day and often can be found sitting with other users on streets and alleyways in Freetown, the capital. “These drugs are…

ADF STAFF Among a handful of prisoners of war captured in Ukraine after fighting for Russia, a young Somali man stood out. He said he joined the army to give his family a “good future,” and was told he would be a “helper” doing logistics…

ADF STAFF In August 2023, armed pirates took control of a fishing vessel just outside Sierra Leone’s port. The attack set off a quick response that brought together Sierra Leonean, Liberian and Ivoirian coast guards determined to catch the…

ADF STAFF Sierra Leonean President Julius Maadi Bio in early April declared a national emergency over rampant drug abuse, particularly of kush, a powerful, synthetic psychoactive drug that has killed hundreds of users. Known for its…

ADF STAFF John Momo is a 27-year-old seventh-grade dropout struggling with drug addiction in the notorious Zimbabwe ghetto in Paynesville, Liberia, where he has lived for nine years. Hundreds of young people — men and women, boys and…

ADF STAFF International observers showered Liberia with praise after the West African nation with a grim history of conflict conducted largely peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections on October 10. “Liberians were able to freely…

ADF STAFF Officials recorded three pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea over four days in late June and early July. Crew members of a cargo ship reported that three pirates boarded their vessel in late June as it was anchored in…

ADF STAFF China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promised huge investments in ports throughout the world. But the environmental and human cost of these projects are only beginning to be understood, according to new reporting.…

ADF STAFF With Ebola cases continuing to rise in Uganda, health officials are looking to the lessons learned from the 2014-16 West Africa outbreak to guide their strategy. Mosoka Fallah, program manager for saving lives and…