Africa Policy Journal
The Africa Policy Journal promoted dialogue about African policy and current affairs in the areas of business, culture, design, education, governance, health, and law. The journal was founded at Harvard Kennedy School in 2006 but later expanded to all schools at Harvard University.
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Kenya’s vision for an equitable, rights-based health system fails to address specific health needs and barriers to accessing health care of vulnerable populations.
05.21.14
Abstract This paper assesses the strength of the Kenya Health Policy 2012-2030 to determine the extent to which it upholds the right to health and explicitly addresses the health needs and aspirations, as well as facilitators and barriers to accessing health care services, of vulnerable and marginalised groups. The Kenya Health Policy is guided by […]
Where Does the Apple Fall from the Tree? On Familial Political Legacy in Africa
04.30.14
For all the calls for change in U.S. politics, the most likely scenario for the 2016 presidential election presents two familiar family names: Clinton vs. Bush. For a country supposedly based on meritocracy, this is a curious turn of events. It is also bewildering how no one questions the legitimacy of this postulation as nepotism. […]

Increased economic productivity after suppressing malaria transmission in 14 African countries
04.25.14
Abstract Several endemic tropical diseases retard economic progress by devastating childhood development and also by reducing productivity in adults, especially among agricultural workers. One of these diseases – malaria – a major cause of death and disability – has been under attack on a large scale in Africa since 2005. This attack has been accompanied […]
Radical Islam Finding Ground in the Central African Republic
04.24.14
Chad’s withdrawal from the international mission opens door for regional terrorist groups. As sectarian violence in the Central African Republic continues to spiral out of control, militant jihadist groups such as Nigeria’s Boko Haram and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have taken notice. They have issued condemnations on several occasions, blaming France for […]

Interview with Clare Akamanzi, Chief Operating Officer of the Rwanda Development Board
04.15.14
The following interview was conducted by APJ’s Elizabeth Bennett on the sidelines of the recently concluded African Development Conference (ADC) held at the Harvard Law School. Ms. Clare Akamanzi is Chief Operating Officer of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). The RDB is a government institution whose vision is to transform Rwanda into a dynamic global hub […]
A Review of Poor Numbers: How We Are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do About It
04.11.14
Over the past decade, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has attracted increasing attention from policy makers, academics, international organizations, and the business community. At the same time that the region has come increasingly into focus, the statistical base behind several books and studies,[1] and ultimately policy making and business decisions, has continued to be very weak. As […]
Interview with Ms. Lise Grande, Former UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in South Sudan
02.21.14
Ms. Lise Grande has worked for the United Nations since 1994, serving in Armenia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Haiti, Occupied Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tajikistan. Ms Grande has worked in some of the United Nations’ largest humanitarian and peace-keeping operations and is now serving as the UN Resident Coordinator in India. […]
A Quiet Success in Stemming a Global Epidemic
02.5.14
WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 2014 marks the second decade of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief or PEPFAR, the most ambitious program in human history to combat HIV/AIDS. Last December, President Obama reaffirmed U.S. funding and support of this important program, albeit at lower levels than in the past due to acute budget constraints. […]
Morocco: A New Financial Capital?
02.3.14
It would be sad if the Arab Spring cemented more turmoil than it sought to end. But the current state of politics in post-Arab Spring, specifically Tunisia and Egypt, suggests things could worsen before they improve. Ongoing security concerns in Libya and the not-so-forgotten hostage situation in Algeria has further caused chaos in the North […]
Ethiopia: Ripe and Open for Business
01.16.14
Individuals readily queue at the door to the visa office at the arrival terminal in the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. One individual presses the Ethiopian border guard about the timeliness of the process and the absence of concern for travelers’ time. The guard simply responds: “How do we plan for this [inflow]?” The […]
Interview with Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, CEO of NEPAD
11.30.13
Interview conducted on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 Mpumelelo Nxumalo (Africa Policy Journal Editor-in-Chief), and Elizabeth Bennett (Africa Policy Journal Senior Editor of Interviews), recently had a chance to sit down with Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the Chief Executive Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency. Their conversation covered a […]
The Ibrahim Prize for Excellence among African Leaders
11.14.13
On October 14, the Mo Ibrahim Prize Committee announced, for the second year in a row, that it had not found anyone to whom to award its Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. The Prize is given to a recently-retired Executive Head of State or Government in Africa who satisfies the criteria of having been […]