Africa

The goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) are laudable, but  also ambitious and complex. Achieving a world in which all people get the health services they need without financial hardship requires bold actions from governments.   In practice, this means that countries must be capable of ensuring the continuity of essential health services while addressing […]

By Kevin Uniacke Former U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker recently led a Zoom speaking engagement at the Harvard Kennedy School. The Ambassador discussed the consequences of the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, drawing on his extensive diplomatic experience as a Foreign Service Officer for over 37 years and an Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, […]

Officials tackling the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria have recognized the impact of COVID-19 on citizens’ mental health. In June, Nigeria’s Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, noted that stigmatization and mental health were among the greatest challenges to the national response. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director-General echoed this notion, […]

Financial inclusion is a particularly serious issue in Africa.  In 2018, only 43 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa was financially included.1 The rate of financial exclusion is highest among the most marginalized communities: women, young people, and those with low levels of education, low-income and rural populations.   The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (henceforth, Covid-19) […]

Background Nigerian youths have for too long been heartbroken, marginalized and ignored by the very system they elected to keep the peace, ensure progress, protect their lives, and promote their common interests. The #EndSARS movement which really began in 2017 took a dramatic turn in 2020, for several reasons, chief of which was the irresponsiveness […]

In the judicial construction of contracts, ambiguities are construed against the drafter based on the canon of “Ambiguitas contra stipulatorem est.” On July 25th, 2021, the Tunisian president Kais Saied imported this technique to constitutional law by dismissing the Prime Minister (PM) and suspending the parliament chaired by “Rachid AL Ghannouchi,” the head of Ennahda […]

During a recent interview, Dr. Celestin Monga (currently a visiting professor at the Harvard Kennedy School) answered questions from APJ’s Lead Interview Editor, Brice Ngameni. Dr. Monga discussed development prospects on the African continent and shed light on the voluntarist development framework he advocates, New Structural Economics. According to this seasoned development practitioner, “the problem […]

Recently APJ had the honor and pleasure of speaking with Dr. Akintoye Akindele, Chairman of Platform Capital Group. Our own Interview Editors Abosede Alimi and Tahany Maalla probed his passion for entrepreneurship, his convictions about the future of Africa & her role in the global economy, and his role as a critical player in that […]

After 73 years, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has elected its first woman and African to lead the organisation as Director-General. This is not only a win for women or for Africa, but it is a win for a world desperately in need of problem solvers. According to Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala “I believe that when […]

During a recent interview, Jestina Mukoko and Ilaria Allegrozzi answered questions from APJ’s Brice Ngameni (Lead Interview Editor), regarding human rights conditions in Zimbabwe and Cameroon respectively. Jestina Mukoko is a prominent human rights activist in Zimbabwe who currently serves as director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project. In 2008, she was unlawfully abducted and detained […]

Joseph R Biden has been sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America. Mr. Biden won the US presidential election in November 2020 with 306 electoral colleges. Kamala Harris, who was Joe Biden’s vice-presidential pick made history after she took an oath of office in a colorful ceremony at the Capitol […]

Eugene T. Richardson’s “Epidemic Illusions” is one of the most bold, honest, and important reads of the year. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the likes of which the world has not experienced in over a century, the insights he provides seem timely and tangible.  While he mainly draws on his experience working on […]