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West Africa

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A mental health workshop in Koudougou. The total number of mental health professionals working in the country, which has a population of more than 20 million, is set down as 103.
AFRICA

The spirits, the marabouts and the 11 psychiatrists in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, more than 70 languages are spoken, armed conflict continues to escalate and half the country’s psychiatrists have left. With few mental health services…

  • Sean Christie
14 min read
South Africa’s department of international relations and cooperation announced its ascension to the African Union Peace and Security Council for a two-year term beginning in April 2026. (GCIS)
AFRICA

Peace in the ruins: South Africa, the African Union and the end of diplomatic illusion

Wars unfold in full view of the world with little consequence for the powerful and overwhelming punishment for the weak. To describe this order as functional requires a…

  • Zeenat Adam
10 min read
Malian police dispersed a demonstration against the presence of the French army in the country, on the fifth anniversary of the French military intervention. (Voice of America Africa via Wikimedia Commons)
BAMAKO

Strength in exile: West African defenders building Hope across borders

With greater support for protection systems, human rights defenders can overcome the many obstacles that have been thrown in their path

  • Adama Dembele
5 min read
Cote D’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara has confirmed his candidacy for re-election. Photo: File
ALASSANE OUATTARA

Ouattara poised to win Cote d’Ivoire’s October presidential elections

This is despite protests by opposition parties

  • Thembisa Fakude
4 min read
Fickle singer: Ivorian Aicha Kone hold a photo of herself and Niger’s leader General Abdourahamane Tiani. Photo: Issouf Sanogo/AFP
AES

Diva to junta: the singer praising West African putschists

How musical icon Aicha Kone has turned her back and microphone on the old political class in West Africa

  • Marietou Ba
3 min read
CHAD

Chad at a crossroads: turmoil and transition in the heart of the Sahel

The West African nation is at a tipping point as it grapples with a refugee influx not seen in two decades. But the possibility for a path to peace exists

  • Imran Khalid
6 min read
Nestlé’s Communication Executive Mota Mota.
CACAO TREE

Climate crisis: Huge blow to cocoa producers

Chocolate prices set to soar as climate change affects Nestlé’s production

  • Mandisa Makgakga
3 min read
(Graphic: John McCann)
AFRICA S BETTER FUTURE

Africa in the next decade is not a singular story

The old trade winds are blowing again and we must take notice, writes editor-in-chief Ron Derby

  • Ron Derby
8 min read
Niger Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou speaks with the press outside the Niger Embassy, in Paris on August 5, 2023, days after coup plotters ousted Niger President, Mohamed Bazoum, holding him with his family in his official Niamey residence since July 26. Photo by STEFANO RELLANDINI / AFP via Getty Images
COUP

Regional diplomacy in Niger crisis sheds light on Nigeria ties

A military intervention has been staved off by leaders in north Nigeria, but queues of long-haul trucks are stuck now that the Niger and Nigeria border has been closed

  • Aminu Abubakar
  • Camille Malplat
3 min read
Upheaval: Demonstrators gather to protest the detention of Niger’s President Mohamed Bazoum by the Presidential Guard in Niamey on 26 July. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
COUP

Guards’ insurrection adds to Niger’s woes

The West African country has suffered from chronic political volatility since gaining independence from France in 1960

  • Agence France Presse
2 min read
A top shot of a powder drug like cocaine in the shape of Guinea (Africa) with a rolled money bill.(series).Inspired by the world we do live in. Photo: Getty Images
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Cocaine trade changes routes in West Africa to avoid armed conflict – report

The cocaine trade is the third most prevalent market in 14 countries in West Africa

  • Eunice Masson
3 min read
Critically endangered: Sory Keira interacts with a 12-year-old western chimpanzee through the enclosure fence at the Chimpanzee Conservation Centre in Somoria, Guinea. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES

Roads decimate West Africa’s chimpanzee population

The species face mounting pressure from roads and infrastructure development in Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone

  • Marcia Zali
2 min read
Threatened: In West Africa, women who sell fish to local markets are impacted by the European fishmeal and fish oil industry, which causes food insecurity and pollution, as well as health problems. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP
ANIMAL FEED

Europe, Asia rob West Africa of fish

Greenpeace Africa reports that the fishmeal and fish oil industry is ‘robbing the Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal of livelihoods and food’

  • Chris Gilili
3 min read
BENIN

Benin’s democratic crisis is deepening, but no one is paying attention

Democracy is under attack in Benin, argues former foreign minister Rogatien Biaou, but the world press remains silent

  • Rogatien Biaou
4 min read
AFRICAN UNION

Crafting credible election commissions in West Africa

There are several ways West African countries can strengthen their election management, but election commissions must constantly evolve if they are to oversee elections that…

  • L Adele Jinadu
7 min read