Africa Daily

Fifty years ago, the British government forcibly evicted all the people living on the Chagos Islands to make way for a US military base. Now, as part of a campaign by Mauritius to highlight its claim to the islands, a small group have returned for a visit – erecting the Mauritian flag there. Also on the boat was the BBC’s Africa Correspondent, Andrew Harding, who helped us pick apart all the issues involved. So was this just a publicity stunt – or might it lead to what many of the Chagossians want: for them to be allowed to go home to the islands for good? #AfricaDaily Host: Alan Kasujja (@Kasujja) Guests: Andrew Harding (@AndrewWJHarding)

Burundi seems to be headed towards renewed relations with the international community. Earlier this month, the European Union lifted economic sanctions, following in the footsteps of the United States. The EU says its decision was inspired by what it described as “peaceful political processes”, that started with successful general elections in May 2020 which Evariste Ndayishimiye won following the death of president Pierre Nkurunziza who died from cardiac arrest. With the sanctions lifted, Burundi will once again start receiving much needed financial aid from EU, among other things to help rebuild its battered economy. There is much work to do. And some are concerned about the approach of the international community. So how is the road to recovery for Burundi? And are its residents starting to feel any benefits?Alan Kasujja speaks to the BBC’s Prime Ndikumagenge and Human Rights Watch’s Mausi Segun

There have been a number of high profile campaigns to encourage more girls to study STEM subjects – that’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. But what’s it actually like for women in Africa who choose these careers? Today’s Africa Daily follows Shillah Simiyu, an infectious disease researcher, as she visits the Nairobi Academy to tell the children there about her work. But she also tells Alan about the sizeable challenges she’s faced as she’s tried to build her career – including breastfeeding between experiments, working weekends, and even having to deliver an important presentation the morning after her nanny quit. Host: Alan Kasujja (@kasujja) Guest: Shillah Simiyu (@ssimiyu)#AfricaDaily

In 2016, the government of President John Magufuli started to ban some newspapers. Over the coming months a number of daily and weekly newspapers disappeared from the newsstands. Questions were asked about whether journalists were being prevented from doing their jobs. And Tanzania slipped from to 124 out of 183 countries in the Press Freedom Index. But last week, the government of the new president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, announced that the publications would be allowed to print again. So, is it a sign that things are changing? A new dawn for Tanzania’s media? #AfricaDaily

Swahili is one of Africa’s most spoken languages. In it’s heartland, it can be heard from Somalia down to Mozambique, and across to parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. But it’s now being taught at some schools in South Africa and Botswana. Universities in Ghana and Ethiopia are offering Swahili courses to their students. And the African Union has adopted it as the first official working language native to the continent. So, is Swahili becoming a lingua franca - a common language - for Africa?Host: Alan Kasujja (@kasujja) Guests: Ally Saleh Khalfan Dr Josephine Dzahene-Quarshie#AfricaDaily

It’s already a week since Senegal took the crown at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. The players, match officials and commentators, are now back with their local leagues. The Confederation of African Football is now preparing for the next tournament. But for Cameroon, there is still some work to be done. Millions was spent building new stadiums and infrastructure for Afcon. In other countries that have hosted major sporting events, the venues are lying deserted and unused. So, what can Cameroon do to get value for money from the Afcon investment?#AfricaDaily

A video of this episode, recorded for Africa Podcast Day, is available on the Africa Daily page of the BBC website.In August this year Kenyans will go to the polls in a general election. The vote will decide who is the next president and who will form the next government. But people will also be looking at how many women are elected. Kenya’s 2010 constitution states that at a third of public offices should be held by women. But only 25% of MPs are currently female. A number that is far behind some of Kenya’s neighbours. So, why aren’t there more women in Kenyan politics? And what can be done to change this?Host: Alan Kasujja (@kasujja) Guests: Beverly Ochieng (@beverlyochieng) Nerima Wako Ojiwa (@nerimaw) Nereah Amondi Oketch (@amondinereah)#AfricaDaily

More than 70,000 women in Africa lose their lives to cervical cancer each year. Almost all the countries with the highest rates of the disease are on the continent. But a cervical cancer diagnosis doesn’t need to be a death sentence. It’s caused by a virus which, if caught early can be treated. And there’s also a vaccine that can prevent girls getting the virus in the first place. So, why are women in Africa still dying of cervical cancer?#AfricaDaily

It’s more than a year since the first vaccine was administered and since then more than 10 billion doses have been given out around the world. But across Africa, only 11% of people have been vaccinated against Covid-19. In some countries – Mauritius, Morocco and Rwanda for example – that number is much higher. And Seychelles was leading the world in vaccinations at one point. But in other countries, the number is even lower. While some of this may be due to the availability of vaccines, it isn’t the only cause. Some people are reluctant to take the vaccine, even when they get the chance. So, what can be done to get the vaccination rate up? Do we need to talk about vaccine hesitancy?#AfricaDaily

There's no full episode of Africa Daily today while we work on something...a little bit different. Alan will be taking part in Africa Podcast Day on Saturday 12th February, which means we're recording an episode on camera for the very first time. You'll be able to watch it as part of the podcast festival and there will be a Q&A session with Alan shortly after. It will also be available on the Africa Daily website early next week. Normal service will resume on Thursday with a brand new episode of the podcast.#AfricaDailyDetails of how to attend Africa Podcast Day are available on their Twitter - @africapodfest