Africa Daily

BBC World Service
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Aug 22, 2025 • 32min

Focus on Africa: Exploring Africa-Japan trade ties

Japan has pledged to work more closely with African countries at global summit on economic development. How can Africa benefit from stronger ties with Japan?The former prime minister of Chad is facing a 20-year prison term after being convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre. Who is Succès Masra and what sparked the intercommunal violence that led to the charges against him?And did you know there are four distinct species of the African giraffe? We find out why that discovery is important for conservation.Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Sunita Nahar, Nyasha Michelle and Stefania Okereke Technical Producer: Pat Sissons Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
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Aug 20, 2025 • 28min

Focus on Africa: Increased concerns over missing Ethiopia journalists

Two prominent journalists in Ethiopia, Abdulsemed Mohammed and Yonas Amare, have been missing for more than a week after being abducted by what reports say, were men wearing masks and military uniforms. There has been no news about their whereabouts but their disappearances have raised concerns about a crackdown on media freedom in the country. Aid agencies warn that a surge in the number of people with the respiratory illness diphtheria is becoming 'the most urgent and dangerous threat' to public health in Somalia. Why are cases of the disease increasing?And how the conflict on the ground in Sudan is affecting migratory birds in the sky.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Tom Kavanagh and Nyasha Michelle in London. Richard Kagoe in Nairobi Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Maryam Abdalla, Alice Muthengi and Andre Lombard
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Aug 15, 2025 • 33min

Focus on Africa: Nigeria negotiates $346m arms deal with US

The US government has approved a $346m arms deal with Nigeria which would include munitions, precision bombs and precision rockets. What is behind the change in a decade-long US policy about selling certain kinds of weapons to Nigeria?The mining of gold has been a key driver of Sudan's economy, and now it is a major source of funding of the two-year civil war. We look back at its history in Sudan, and its role in the current conflict.And one year on since Ghana's parliament passed its landmark Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act, which was hailed as a victory for women's rights, how have things changed?Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Nyasha Michelle and Stefania Okereke in London. Charles Gitonga in Nairobi Technical Producer: Philip Bull Senior Journalist: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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Aug 11, 2025 • 33min

Focus on Africa: Activists block foreigners from South African hospitals

Doctors Without Borders and other NGOs have raised concerns about anti-migrant groups preventing non-South Africans from accessing healthcare services. The South African government has called on all communities to uphold the rule of law, respect human dignity. So why are activists blocking health clinics and hospitals? The African Union sends a delegation to South Sudan to encourage the warring sides in the country to revive a 2018 peace deal and pave the way for elections. Can they bring both sides back to the table? And as Africa Fashion Week London comes to an end, how can African fashion leverage its global appeal?Presenter: Richard Kagoe Producers: Tom Kavanagh and Stefania Okereke Technical Producer: Francesca Dunne Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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Jul 31, 2025 • 31min

Focus on Africa: What is fuelling Angola's fuel protests?

What began as a three-day strike by taxi drivers against rising petrol prices in Angola, has escalated into one of the most widespread and disruptive waves of protest the country has seen in recent years. What has life been like in the capital Luanda, against the background of the unrest?Why do fewer than a quarter of South Africans trust their police service? A new survey shows only 22% of South Africans have any confidence in the institution.And we meet the Nigerian filmmaker, Joel Kachi Benson, who won an Emmy for a film he made about the young boy dancing in the rain who thrilled the world in a viral video a few years ago.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Blessing Aderogba in Lagos. Tom Kavanagh and Nyasha Michelle in London Technical Producer: Jonathan Greer Senior Producers: Patricia Whitehorne and Karnie Sharp Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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Jul 25, 2025 • 34min

Focus on Africa: Who are the CAR commanders jailed for war crimes?

This week the International Criminal Court sentenced two commanders of a civilian militia in the Central African Republic to a total of 27 years in prison. One of them, Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssona, had formerly been the head of the country’s football federation. What was the conflict that engulfed CAR a decade ago, and what were the crimes that led to the ICC convictions?Also in this episode, the impact that continuing aid cuts are having on women and girls in Somalia.And we uncover the melodic contributions of Congo's queens of rumba music.Presenter: Audrey Brown Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Yvette Twagiramarya, Sunita Nahar and Tanya Hines in London Technical Producer: Jonathan Greer Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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Jul 23, 2025 • 29min

How has Goma changed under M23 fighters?

The city of Goma in the conflict-hit east of the Democratic Republic of Congo was seized by the M23 armed group earlier this year after intense fighting with government forces. How has the city changed after six months under the group’s control?After retired police officers in Nigeria held demonstrations earlier this week calling for better pensions, we look at wider pension provision and ask if young Nigerians see pension planning as a secure path to protecting their retirement in the future? And could there be a new type of diabetes that accounts for the rising number of cases among young people in Africa.Presenter: Richard Kagoe Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Sunita Nahar and Nyasha Michelle in London. Blessing Aderogba in Lagos Technical Producer: Jonathan Greer Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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Jul 21, 2025 • 33min

Focus on Africa: Why Burkina Faso discarded its Electoral Commission

Burkina Faso's military rulers have disbanded the country's electoral commission calling it a waste of money. The government says the interior ministry will handle elections in the future. Will this move by the ruling junta further delay democratic elections?Hundreds of thousands of premature deaths occur each year in Africa due to illnesses caused by cooking with polluting fuels like wood, charcoal and even animal dung. So what is being done to ensure more people have access to clean cooking?And why are ancient and cultural heritage sites in Ethiopia facing a crisis.Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Sunita Nahar and Nyasha Michelle in London Technical Producer: Philip Bull Senior Producer: Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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Jul 17, 2025 • 33min

Focus on Africa: Cameroon's president seeks re-election at age 92

Cameroon's Paul Biya has the distinction of being 'the world's oldest sitting president' and yet at age 92, he is seeking to run for an eighth term, that will see him serve until he is almost 100 years old. How much popular support does he have, and how strong is the opposition?Sudan's newly appointed prime minister, Kamal Idris, has named his cabinet ministers who will form his "government of hope". How will they function in the country still in the grip of war?And after the announcement by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is complete and will be officially inaugurated in September, why has US President Donald Trump weighed in on the long-running dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over the giant construction?Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Tom Kavanagh, Sunita Nahar and Mark Wilberforce Technical Producer: Gabriel O'Regan Senior Producers: Patricia Whitehorne and Karnie Sharp Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi
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Jul 9, 2025 • 28min

Focus on Africa: Ghanaians lured into football job scam

Ghanaian authorities have rescued more than 70 young men from a trafficking ring in Nigeria. The men thought they were heading for football contracts or overseas opportunities. Why has football become a gateway for trafficking? Leaders from five African countries - Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal - have been invited to a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House. What will they discuss? And we hear how women in Morocco are keeping the art of rug-weaving alive, and how traditional rugs are a symbol of cultural identity. Presenter: Charles Gitonga Producers: Nyasha Michelle, Yvette Twagiramariya, Alfonso Daniels and Sunita Nahar in London. Blessing Aderogba in Lagos Technical Producer: Pat Sissons Senior Journalists: Karnie Sharp and Patricia Whitehorne Editors: Andre Lombard and Karnie Sharp

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