Not surprisingly, the AU has achieved spectacularly little in its decade and a half of existence. It is famous for its annual summits, where unrepentant despots sip champagne and applaud their own longevity while issuing preposterous communiqués that nobody else in the world pays attention to.
“VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussion and opinion on these policies.” — VOA Charter
President of Gabon: The Paris Agreement Is Just the Start of Africa’s Climate Quest
Posted April 22nd, 2016 at 12:49 pm (UTC-4)
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As we look to the future, we cannot improve our living standards while simultaneously degrading the natural environment around us. If we do, we will certainly face a similar climate migration, sparking a humanitarian crisis. Africa is going to have to walk a tightrope if we are to achieve sustainable growth.
How Schooling Can Save African Girls from Becoming Child Brides
Posted March 17th, 2016 at 2:00 pm (UTC-4)
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How can child marriages be stopped? The answer, research suggests, lies in improving girls’ access to basic education – and in changing school curricula so that both girls and boys realise women can contribute a great deal to their societies if they are not just married off and forgotten.
Africa’s Boom Is Over
Posted January 6th, 2016 at 10:31 am (UTC-4)
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[I]t looks like the skeptics were right. Oil and commodity prices are plunging, China’s purchases are slowing, and GDP growth rates across the continent are in steep decline. … [T]he IMF has cut its 2015 projection for growth in sub-Saharan Africa from 4.5 to 3.75 percent …
Transforming the Health, Well-Being, and Livelihoods of Millions Across the Globe
Posted December 15th, 2015 at 9:44 am (UTC-4)
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This year marks a decade of American leadership in the global fight against malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative. Retired Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer, the US Global Malaria Coordinator, reports the hard work is paying off.
Will Obama’s Africa Tour Dispel Disengagement Narrative?
Posted July 27th, 2015 at 3:33 pm (UTC-4)
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The conventional wisdom on President Barack Obama’s engagement with Africa is largely critical – his predecessor did so much more. Africans love Obama nonetheless, observers say. This trip includes some firsts: Obama will be the first sitting American president to address the African Union in Ethiopia, where he has already boldly called for political freedoms. And in Kenya, his father’s homeland, he spoke frankly about gay rights and corruption.
Kenya, Open for Business
Posted July 27th, 2015 at 8:25 am (UTC-4)
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The Chinese have built large numbers of roads, modern office buildings, schools, and ports, as well as other major infrastructure projects. From this, he is likely to conclude that Kenya — in a pattern that is true across the continent — is changing rapidly, and American commercial relations are not keeping up.
US Gun Policy Obama’s Biggest Regret
Posted July 24th, 2015 at 2:24 pm (UTC-4)
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Just hours after President Obama spoke with BBC, a gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Louisiana, killing two people before shooting himself. It was the latest in a string of gun violence in the US: from the massacre of nine people in a famed black church in South Carolina to the shooting deaths of over 20 young children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
Is Genocide Inevitable?
Posted June 15th, 2015 at 11:26 am (UTC-4)
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Mass violence in countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, Mali, Chad and Uganda, let alone genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Sudan, continue to influence sub-Saharan Africa’s image.
The ICC Lacks Legitimacy
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has, in many ways, had a strong year. Two new preliminary investigations have been opened, in Burundi and the Gabonese Republic, while eight situations remain under on-going examination…Unfortunately, this year has also brought serious challenges to the Court.