Samantha Power, head of the USAID agency in the United States, pressed for Zambia’s commitment to democratic values during a congratulatory call to president-elect Hakainde Hichilema. Power and Hichilema also focused on Zambia’s fight against corruption, and the role of civil society in delivering a peaceful and credible election that…
The United States appealed for improved humanitarian aid access and an end to conflict affecting civilians in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, one day after USAID Administrator Samantha Power visited Addis Ababa. “We call on the TPLF, we call on the Amhara regional forces, we call on the Eritrean Defence…
While there are new reasons to be optimistic about the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the progress remains uneven as Congolese officials and the international community respond to one of the most complex scenarios that anyone could have envisioned when the first case appeared more than a…
First Lady Melania Trump of the United States wrapped up a four-nation tour of Africa on Saturday with a visit to Egypt, where she was greeted by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his wife, Entissar. Trump, married to controversial U.S. President Donald Trump, began her tour in Ghana, and traveled to…
First Lady Melania Trump of the United States continued a four-nation tour of Africa with a visit to Malawi on Thursday, where she was greeted by Gertrude Mutharika, wife of Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika, at the airport in Lilongwe. Trump, married to controversial U.S. President Donald Trump, is making her…
First Lady Melania Trump of the United States begins her four-nation tour of Africa with events in Ghana Tuesday. She is expected to meet with Rebecca Akufo Addo, wife of Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Addo, to help promote initiatives for children’s education, and maternal and child health. Trump, the wife…
Donald Yamamoto, the acting assistant secretary for African affairs at the United States Department of State, testified before a U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday in defense of a USD$5.2 billion foreign assistance budget request for FY2018. Yamamoto, in a position that President Donald Trump’s administration has yet to formally fill,…
Wildlife traffickers are exploiting the air transport sector to smuggle ivory, rhino horn and other protected animals and products on commercial airline flights, but there are ways to stop them. Those recommendations are found in a report, “Flying Under the Radar: Wildlife Trafficking in the Air Transport Sector,” produced as…
Newly elected Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who will take up his position as director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) on July 1, is in the United States this week to meet with a wide range of stakeholders on global health issues. Tedros, in the first of planned visits…
American officials on Tuesday released a much-awaited $37.6 billion combined budget request for the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), one that cuts more than $17 billion from the “leaner” government’s diplomatic and foreign aid programs. “This budget request supports the President’s ‘America First’ vision…
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday that African nations will continue to receive attention and support from the U.S., particularly in the fight against terrorism. “The continent of Africa is so important,” Tillerson said in remarks to state department employees. “From a national security view, we cannot…
Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, says Africa faces a triangle of disaster because of youth unemployment, poverty, and environmental and climate impacts. “Everywhere you find this triangle of disaster you always find terrorists,” Adesina said in a Financial Times interview published Monday. The article focused on how…
United States President Donald Trump and his administration plan a nearly 30 percent budget cut to the U.S. Department of State and USAID programs, the Wall Street Journal reports. Those cuts, part of a first look at the 2018 budget, will be announced later on Thursday. That may mean some…
A five-year multi-million dollar plan to address malnutrition in Kenya will end in 2017 and leave thousands of children still suffering from malnourishment. The US and UK funded plan does not address the root causes of malnutrition which include recurrent droughts, famine, floods and poverty. Due to the lack of…
Anthony Langat is a freelance journalist based in Kenya and specializes in reporting on human rights issues, governance, security and climate change.