Nyheder – Africa

More elephants in Chad: The elephant population in the Zakouma national park in Chad is growing. In 2011 there was just one calf under the age of five. That number is 127 now.

Senegal fights cervical cancer: Senegal and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance have begun to immunise 1.1 million young girls against cervical cancer before the end of 2019.

Free universities in Liberia: The president of Liberia, George Weah, has announced that all public universities in the country will be free for undergraduate studies.

Equality in Ethiopian government: Half of Ethiopia’s 20 ministers are now women, making Ethiopia the second African country after Rwanda to have equal gender representation in the cabinet.

Fewer child brides in Ethiopia: The number of child marriages in Ethiopia has fallen by a third over the last decade. Although, four out of 10 girls will still marry before the age of 18.

South Africa announces minimum wage: For the first time, South Africa has introduced a minimum wage: 20 rand (1.36 euro) per hour. While modest, it does mean higher wages for 47% of workers.

Longer lives in Africa: Newborn children in African countries are now expected to live three years longer than those born in 2010. Meanwhile, mothers generally have fewer children.

Success for plastic ban: One year ago, Kenya banned single-use plastic bags. Most people have respected the ban, and there’s now less plastic trash in nature.

Big vaccine boost: A new partnership is to hire 50,000 community health workers and vaccinate eight million people in Liberia, Uganda, and Kenya.

Fast response to Ebola outbreak: Cooperating with vaccine experts from Guinea, DR Congo is moving fast to fight he second outbreak of Ebola this year.

More power to South African women: Today, 42% of the seats in South Africa’s parliament are held by women. The number has increased from 2.8% since 1990, especially since the end of Apartheid.

Young Kenyans say no to violence: A project in Kenya has nearly halved the number of rapes in a slum area. Girls are taught self-defence and boys learn to interfere if they witness harassment.

Tunisian mayor making history: Souad Abderrahim is the first woman to be elected mayor of Tunis. She is also the first woman in history to lead a capital city of an Arabic country.

A more peaceful Gambia: The human rights climate in Gambia has improved after president Barrow won the election in 2016. Political prisoners have been released and the media is freer.

Clean water in Tunisia: Tunisians have gained better access to clean water. Since 2000, the share of people with access to clean drinking water has increased from 37 % to nearly 93 %.

Lassa fever stopped in Nigeria: Nigeria has managed to stop the life-threatening Lassa fever from spreading. Since 2016, more than 450 people have been infected by the virus in the country.

A new hope for gorillas: According to a new study, there are more gorillas in the world than previously estimated. This means a better chance to save the critically endangered species.

Battle against yellow fever begins: The WHO has begun vaccinating nearly a billion people in 27 African countries, in order to eliminate yellow fever before 2026.

Fewer death penalties in Africa: In Africa south of the Sahara, 20 countries have now banned capital punishment.

Peaceful elections in Sierra Leone: The once war-torn country of Sierra Leone has completed peaceful elections that were largely satisfactory, according to international observers.