Central Africa Archive

Editor’s Note: Africa Watch will be off the next two weeks. It will return Aug. 9, with Andrew Green curating the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. The Ebola outbreak that began in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo more than a year ago is now officially a global health emergency. The World Health Organization declared the epidemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, or PHEIC, after declining to do so on three previous occasions. The reconsideration followed the virus’ spread to the city of Goma, a major regional hub home to a million people. […]

Leaders from across Africa gathered in Niamey, the capital of Niger, earlier this month to officially launch the African Continental Free Trade Area, or AfCFTA. The sweeping agreement, which covers 54 out of 55 African Union members, is designed to boost intra-African trade and eventually create a single African market for goods and services. It has been called a potential “game changer” for Africa, but member states must now complete the hard work of implementing the deal and negotiating specific reductions in tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade. In an email interview with WPR, Trudi Hartzenberg, the executive director of […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. It took four years of discussions, but the African Continental Free Trade Area, or AfCFTA, is officially operational. African leaders gathered in Niger’s capital, Niamey, last weekend to launch the trade zone, which they hope will create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc and bolster development across the continent. AfCFTA got a late boost when Nigeria, the largest African economy, agreed Sunday to sign on, but that’s no assurance that the bid for a single unified market will be a success. Every African […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Can a #MeToo moment that originated in Nigeria’s evangelical community last week spark a regional movement? It began last Friday when photographer Busola Dakolo accused Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, who heads the influential Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, of raping her when Dakolo was a teenager. Women took to social media to share their own experiences of rape and sexual abuse by church leaders alongside hashtags that include #MeToo, #ChurchToo and #SayNoToRape. By Sunday, protesters had gathered outside different branches of the Pentecostal church. […]