Africa Daily

Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania where more than 99% of the population are Muslim. In a community that places high value on family and marriage, being a divorcee is something that is often looked down upon, especially for women. However, one woman is breaking down those stereotypes through her culinary initiative, Mamas of Zanzibar. BBC Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja speaks to Maskat on why she started her initiative and the impact it’s had on her life as a single mother as well as the lives of other ‘mamas’ on the island.

Since 2013, more than 70,000 Nigerians have crossed into northern Cameroon fleeing Boko Haram attacks. As they settled in Minawao as refugees, they were faced with difficult desert conditions, with nowhere to hide their heads when the sun was scorching. So they opted to join forces to plant trees and have build what is now known as The Green Refugee Camp.In today’s Africa Daily podcast, Alan Kasujja speaks to one of the refugees, Isaac Luka, who gives an account of how step-by-step, refugees embraced tree planting to counter a hot climate, and how the initiative is providing jobs, shade, health and food for hundreds of refugees and local families.Alan also speaks to reporter Henry Tataw Ekambi to understand how Minawao looked before the refugees arrived, and to expert, Teboh Emmanuel, who shares insights into what it takes to successfully plant trees in arid areas.

Artificial Intelligence is playing a growing part in modern life. We’re told it can make things faster, more efficient and cheaper.But people with disabilities can struggle to use machines which use AI because they don’t recognise their special needs and adapt to them. Instructions are often visual – making it impossible for a blind person to use without the assistance of someone else. A number of African countries have AI strategies but in Nigeria this is still being discussed – and so people with disabilities there are pressing for their needs to be recognised within any legislation.For today’s Africa Daily, Alan hears from journalist Gbenga Ogundare, Olufemi Bayode, a teacher at Kings College, and Opeolu Akinola, an ICT consultant and the co-founder of the Microsoft Experience Centre in Lagos. All three are blind.

“Families who have young brothers and sister or sons being killed didn’t even know they were in criminal environments. It caught politicians off guard. It caught everyone off guard.”Sweden’s police chief has described a spike in gang violence – including shootings and bomb attacks - as “unprecedented”. The police force in the capital Stockholm have said they are overwhelmed and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has asked the army to provide support. The police have linked the violence to a widening gap between rich and poor and drug use. More than 40 people have died in nearly 300 shootings in Sweden this year, according to official police statistics. There are many African communities in Sweden, the largest is the Somali community. Second generation Somali-Swedes say the situation has changed life for many there. Victoria Uwonkunda has been speaks to a woman who offers group therapy to young people and a journalist who has covered the story for years.

“Look at the Middle East right now, Israel and Palestine. They could have come to terms with each other a long time ago. We were fortunate that we had a Mandela” – Roelf Meyer, former South African cabinet minister. South Africa’s first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela died on this day, a decade ago. So today, Africa Daily’s Mpho Lakaje sits down with two of his former ministers, Sydney Mufamadi and Roelf Meyer. What was it like reporting to one of the most prominent political figures of the 21st century? But most importantly, what type of legacy did the man affectionately known as Madiba leave behind? His country is facing a mountain of problems including joblessness, power outages and persistent government corruption. If he was still alive, would Mandela associate with the ruling ANC party? These are some of the questions Mpho is asking his guests.

In November this year, 221 Malawians flew to Israel to start working on farms there. The Malawian government has a labour export deal with Israel, and says it is eventually aiming for a total of 5000 people to travel there for work. According to the World Bank, Malawi is the fourth poorest country in the world.But the deal has provoked debate in Malawi because of the current conflict in Israel. The political opposition says the scheme is putting citizens in danger, pointing out that 39 agricultural workers from Thailand were killed at the start of the fighting. The government in Malawi says they have assurances the workers will be safe.So we got in contact with one of the workers who has just arrived in Israel, Andrew Chunga, to ask him what life was really like there.

Across Africa, the impact of climate change is becoming more and more apparent. This year alone, multiple countries across the continent have been hit with an array of severe natural disasters – ranging from floods to excruciatingly high temperatures. As the United Nations Climate Change Conference - or COP28 - kicked of this week, delegates agreed to launch the long-awaited 'loss and damage' fund to pay for damage from climate-driven storms and drought. The EU, US, UAE and others immediately announced contributions totalling around $400m for poor countries reeling from the impacts of climate change.But in the past pledges for climate funding - for example to the Green Climate Fund - have far exceeded the actual amount of money that has been given.So should Africa be cautious about these new pledges?In a discussion recorded before the launch of the new fund, Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja hears why the issue of money has been so fraught in the past from our resident environment reporter, Peter Musembi - and talks over Africa's priorities for the summit with Eva Masudi, the Environment and Sustainable Development Minister for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Horn of Africa region is experiencing torrential rainfall and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, claiming dozens of lives and causing large-scale displacement. In Somalia the number of those killed by the floods has surpassed 100, and more than 700,000 have been displaced.The rains are forecast to continue battering East Africa till the end of the year.It comes as the region emerges from its worst drought in four decades after multiple failed rainy seasons that left millions of people in need and devastated crops and livestock.The current El Nino phenomenon had been predicted since the beginning of the year.In today’s Africa Daily Podcast, Alan Kasujja speaks to Somalia deputy prime minister Salah Jama, to find out why it has not been possible to mitigate the damage despite this early warning.

Brain drain is an issue across the continent but has become closely associated with Nigeria. Several surveys have found that the country has the highest proportion of young people wanting to move overseas. The tendency even has its own term – Japa – meaning to run, flee, or escape, in the Yoruba language. But does this tell the whole story? On a recent trip to Lagos, Alan Kasujja brought together a group of Nigerians with different perspectives on the topic. Among them are people thinking about leaving and those who have left but later decided to return home. Alan also heard from a couple of Kenyans, who saw an opportunity in Nigeria, the same country some want to leave, and moved there for a better life.

“The water is dirty. You can see it with your own eyes. It looks muddy. When you pour it in a glass and leave it overnight, the following day you start seeing small things swimming in the water” – Kamogelo Stock, South African citizen In this episode, we hear from people who’ve gone through the agony of losing their loved ones to cholera in South Africa. The disease is currently wreaking havoc in several parts of the African continent including Malawi, Cameroon and Mozambique. Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, is currently under a state of emergency following a deadly outbreak. Cholera is an infectious and often fatal bacterial disease which causes severe diarrhea and dehydration. It can spread in places with insufficient water treatment, poor sanitation and inadequate hygiene. In today’s episode Alan Kasujja attempts to find out why so many African countries are still struggling to contain the disease.