Africa – Page 56 – Prologue Journal

Uganda Passes Strict Anti-Gay Bill That Imposes Death Penalty for Some

New York Times The legislation, which now goes to the president, also calls for life in prison for anyone engaging in gay sex. Policies to stifle L.G.B.T.Q. rights have been on the rise in several African nations. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/world/africa/uganda-lgtbq-anti-gay-law.html

American Held Hostage in Africa Is Freed

New York Times Jeffery Woodke, an aid worker abducted in Niger by militants, was released after more than six years in captivity. A second hostage was also released: Olivier Dubois, a French journalist who disappeared in April 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/us/politics/hostage-jeffery-woodke-freed.html

First Official Estimate of Somalia’s Drought Shows 43,000 Dead

New York Times At least half of the deaths were children under the age of 5, according to the report by health researchers, the United Nations and the Somali government. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/20/world/africa/somalia-drought-death-famine.html

Reuters reveals Ghana suspending debt service payments on its external obligations

Reuters Reuters was first to report that Ghana suspended payments on much of its external debt, effectively defaulting as the west African country struggles to plug its cavernous balance of payments deficit. Prices of Ghana’s sovereign international bonds dropped sharply in the wake of the announcement. Ghana had already announced a domestic debt restructuring and…

Reuters reveals Chad strikes a debt deal under the G20 Common Framework

Reuters Reuters exclusively reported that Chad became the first country to agree to a deal with its creditors, including Swiss commodity house Glencore, under the G20 Common Framework — designed to provide debt relief to developing nations. Reuters was also first to report confirmation of the agreement and exclusively sketched out rare criticism from World…

Reuters reveals Ethiopia debt relief delay partly due to civil war, state finance minister says

Reuters Reuters exclusively revealed that Ethiopia’s state finance minister said on Saturday that delays in restructuring Ethiopia’s debt due to the failings of a new global mechanism for resolving debt problems are “disappointing,” adding that he planned to raise it with the head of the International Monetary Fund. Africa’s second-most populous country requested a debt…

Reuters reveals Rotavirus childhood vaccine shortage hits four African countries

Reuters Reuters exclusively reported that supplies of a vaccine to prevent the deadly rotavirus infection in children have either run out in Kenya, Tanzania, Senegal and Cameroon or are close to doing so, after disruptions at drugmaker GSK. The World Health Organization estimates that up to 200,000 children die each year from the highly contagious…

Reuters reveals Coca-Cola African bottler’s $3 billion IPO delayed by Ukraine turmoil

Reuters Reuters exclusively revealed Coca-Cola’s estimated $3 billion initial public offering for its African bottling unit will likely take place in the third quarter, after market turmoil linked to the war in Ukraine upset plans to list earlier. The flotation of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa would be the biggest on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange since at least 2016…

Reuters reveals Shell’s Nigerian oil assets attract interest from local firms

Reuters Reuters revealed that at least five Nigerian oil and gas companies are preparing to submit bids this month for Royal Dutch Shell’s onshore oilfields in a sale that could fetch up to $3 billion, three sources involved in the process told Reuters. Shell started talks with the Nigerian government last year about selling its stake in…

Reuters exclusively reports up to 1 million COVID vaccines expired in Nigeria last month

Reuters Reuters exclusively reported that up to one million COVID-19 vaccines are estimated to have expired in Nigeria in November without being used, one of the biggest single losses of doses and showing the difficulty African nations have getting shots in arms. Governments on the continent of over one billion people have been pushing for…