The morphine shortage in Africa has posed major problems for critically ill patients over the past several decades. In West Africa, only 52 palliative care centers, such as hospices, have the unrealistic responsibility of providing treatment for 360 million people. Therefore, many countries don’t have enough drugs for those who need it most. In Senegal, the average patient who needs… Read more »
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al Sisi rose to the presidency in 2014. Recently, an An Egyptian parliamentary committee on Tuesday approved proposed constitutional amendments which would allow Al-Sisi to stay in power until 2034 and boost his control of the judiciary. Africa has a long history of leaders overstaying their rule. We have seen this with Omar al-Bashir, Teodoro Obiang Nguema… Read more »
Radio France and the news site Mediapart published on Wednesday excerpts of a memo from the DGSE – the French equivalent of MI6 and the CIA – which seems to refute the idea that they knew nothing of the Rwandan genocide as it began to unfold.ADVERTISING The two news organisations published a note from the French exterior intelligence agency in September 1994… Read more »
Democratic Republic of Congo’s outgoing government on Monday defended decrees granting former ministers lifetime salaries and other benefits following strong criticism in a country where most of the population lives in poverty. Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala, who is due to submit his government’s resignation to new President Felix Tshisekedi in the coming days, signed the decrees last November, but they were only… Read more »
Against all the odds, and the laws of arithmetic, Félix Tshisekedi was due to become the Democratic Republic of Congo’s fifth president as The Economist went to press. A few weeks ago he was trailing in the polls. Experts predicted that the election in December would either be won by Martin Fayulu, a popular opposition candidate, or rigged in favour of the ruling-party… Read more »
Alizea smit sits on a plastic crate in front of her fruit and vegetable stand in Wynberg, Cape Town. It is a convenient spot. There is brisk custom for her oranges and avocados. And her heroin dealer is on the corner, just a few metres away. Ms Smit (not her real name) has used the drug for six years, buying three… Read more »
The government of the Central African Republic and 14 armed groups inked a new peace accord in Sudanese capital, Khartoum on Tuesday to end years of fighting that has left thousands of people dead.ADVERTISING The accord, the seventh since 2012, was initialled by President Faustin Archange Touadera for the CAR government, an AFP correspondent reported. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who hosted the talks in Khartoum… Read more »
Anna has just hit puberty and she can barely move. She has late-stage cancer and a tumour protrudes from her neck. As a nurse walks in, Anna (not her real name) slowly covers her face with a veil. She is dying in agony in Dantec, one of Senegal’s main hospitals. But the doctors don’t have enough morphine to give her. In… Read more »
Last year Emmerson Mnangagwa strutted around the World Economic Forum (wef) declaring his country “open for business”. This year Zimbabwe’s president did not even make it to Davos. Instead, on January 21st, having cut short a foreign jaunt that was meant to end at the wef, he arrived home to a country in chaos. Since January 12th, when Mr Mnangagwa sparked protests… Read more »
An Egyptian parliamentary committee on Tuesday approved proposed constitutional amendments which would allow President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to stay in power until 2034 and boost his control of the judiciary. The approval is the first step needed to move forward with the constitutional changes, which are expected to be finally endorsed by parliament and then move to a referendum within… Read more »