Category archives for: Analysis

For West African juntas, CFA franc pits sovereignty against expediency

JOE BAVIER & BOUREIMA BALIMA Days after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced last month they were quitting the West Africa political union ECOWAS, Burkina Faso’s military ruler Ibrahim Traore was already naming his next target: the region’s CFA franc currency. “It’s not just the currency. Anything that maintains us in slavery, we’ll break those […]

Africa’s latest coup is a headache for the West and an opportunity for Russia

STEPHANIE BUSARI Days after the democratically elected president of Niger was deposed in a military coup, thousands of supporters of the takeover thronged the French embassy in the nation’s capital to deliver an unmistakable message to their former colonial power and its Western allies. As President Mohamed Bazoum was being held captive by his soldiers […]

Trump: Running for President, Pardon, and Power?

UCHENNA EKWO Whatever anyone thinks about Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States remains the most dominant political force in the country for about a decade and counting. Over the course of his entry into politics without any previous experience, Trump has mastered how to manipulate the rich, the poor, and the so […]

Are China and Russia Bad for Africa? That’s the Wrong Question

Westerners should ask instead what kind of partnerships their own countries offer to the continent. HOWARD W. FRENCH A question that was crude in its simplicity trailed me for years in the wake of a book that I wrote about Chinese migration to Africa. In the place of nuance, Western reporters and the curious readers […]

STDs are at a shocking high. How do we reverse the trend?

More than half of new infections were among people aged 15 to 24, and the pandemic lockdowns only tell part of the story. Here’s a look at how we got here—and what we can do about it. ALLIE YANG Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are skyrocketing in the United States, according to the latest data, as […]

A man’s world? Not according to biology or history.

For proof, we can look to the many matrilineal societies dotted all over the world. In some regions, these traditions may date back thousands of years. ANGELA SAINI The philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah once asked why some people feel the need to believe in a more equal past to picture a more equal future. Many […]

Racism undermines the health of Black Americans. This physician-economist is looking for solutions

LAURA SANTHANAM Many white Americans have only recently realized what Dr. Marcella Alsan has studied for most of her career – that systemic racism in health care has fostered mistrust among Black and brown patients, widened health disparities and produced dire outcomes for those communities. The COVID-19 pandemic worsened those disparities even further, stacking “inequality […]

Your Vagina Can Change a Lot After Childbirth. Women Share What to Expect.

“I didn’t know that you could tear at the top of your vagina. I would have appreciated more information while I was pregnant.” VENESSA WONG Before childbirth, Sakinah Harrison had a great relationship with her body. “I loved the way I looked. I loved the way I felt. I was very confident,” she recalled. She […]

Take more breaks at work, put your head in the freezer … an expert’s eight simple tips for better sleep

ELLE HUNT ‘We’re built for sleep,’ according to the psychologist Aric Prather, yet many of us still struggle to overcome insomnia. He talks us through his ‘prescription’ Many of us are hoping for a happier, healthier life in 2023. We may already be trying lifestyle changes (daily meditation, giving up dairy), but for most of […]

France Losing Its Grip on Former African Strongholds?

MICHAEL TANTOH France seems to be losing the grip it once had on its former colonies, and the rift is growing every day. “Sixty years on, francophone countries in Africa still do not have true independence and freedom from France,” Nathalie Yamb, adviser to Ivory Coast’s Freedom and Democracy Party (LIDER), told Deutche Welle in […]

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