West Africa

Birthing Justice: The Link to Humanity -- Gift Economies

Beverly Bell | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Mali, Women's Rights, Women, Solidarity Economy, Care Economy, Social Movements, Gender, Gift Economy, African Women, Africa, West Africa, World News

West African gifting is based on the interrelated values that all humanity is linked and that one's well-being is only as strong as that of one's neighbor. Proﬁt and exchange are trumped by a commitment to care for community.

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Upheaval in West Africa: Could Nigeria Be Next?

Daniel Wagner | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Sectarianism, Mali, Ibrahim Babangida, Boko Haram, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, West Africa, Gusau, World News

Preventing BH from exploiting sectarian tension is therefore paramount, but shoring up the support of northern political figures while driving through a reformist agenda will be no easy task.

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PHOTOS: Thank You Somali Pirates For This Fascinating Vacation

Lindblad Expeditions | Posted 04.23.2012

Read More: Vice President Boakai, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, National Geographic Explorer, Ralph Hammelbacher, Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic, West Africa Cruise, Oliver Kreuss, Elizabeth Hoff, West Africa, Deputy Minister, Lindblad Expeditions, Monrovia, Liberia, Karl Albrecht, Vice President Joseph Boakai, Travel Blogs, Slidepollajax, Travel News

Recently, 148 accomplished travelers aboard National Geographic Explorer found themselves in the historic position of being the largest group of tourists to dock in the Freeport of Monrovia, Liberia since the 1970s.

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My Journey Of Discovery In Ghana With Malaria No More UK

Aloe Blacc | Posted 04.19.2012

Read More: UK Impact, Malaria No More, Ghana, Malaria, Aloe Blacc Malaria No More, Malaria Ghana, West Africa, Global Motherhood, Mosquitoes, Aloe Blacc, Home News

Until a few weeks ago the thought of getting malaria had never crossed my mind as I'm fortunate to live in a US city where malaria is not a problem. Even when I travel to tropical areas like my parents' home country of Panama where mosquitoes eat me alive, I'm not worried as malaria is no longer present in that part of the country. This is a stark contrast to my recent trip with Malaria No More UK to Ghana, West Africa, where malaria affects the entire population of 24 million people and is a leading cause of death amongst young children. The charity has released a short film today about my trip - I went to learn as much as I could about malaria and the work happening to make sure every home in the country has a mosquito net by the end of this year.

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The Need to Protect Democracy in Mali

Morton H. Halperin | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Sanctions, International Community, World Politics, Mali Coup D'État, West Africa, Democracy, Mali-Tuareg-Rebellion, Ecowas, Mali, Mali Rebellion, Mali Coup, World News

The international community must do everything in its power to reverse the coup d'état in Mali for the sake of the Malian people, for the future of democracy in West Africa and to strengthen the global norm against recognizing governments arising from military coups against democratic regimes.

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Drought in Sahel Could Become a Catastrophe for 13 Million

Louis Belanger | Posted 05.08.2012

Read More: West Africa, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Food Crisis, Refugees, Oxfam, Chad, Appeal, Saehl, Burkina, Video, World News

Some 13 million people are at severe risk from a food crisis which is set to escalate into a full scale humanitarian emergency in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa if urgent action is not taken.

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Senegalese Leaders Are Out of Touch With Their People

Mouhamadou Mbodj | Posted 04.25.2012

Read More: West Africa, Senegal Elections, Senegal, Africa, Abdoulaye Wade, Youssou N'Dour, Transparency International, Forum Civil, President Abdoulaye Wade, World Elections 2012, World News

If there was a case study on how not to run an election, this would be it. The young people of Senegal deserve better and, if we go back to basics, it may be that we can learn from these unfortunate events.

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UN Calls For More Help In West Africa Hunger Crisis

AP/Huffington Post | Posted 02.20.2012

Read More: Africa Famine, West Africa Food Crisis, West Africa, Video, Global Motherhood, Impact News

NIAMEY, Niger -- Top United Nations officials say 10 million people need help amid a food crisis in West Africa's Sahel region. U.N. Development an...

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Hunger In West Africa: Putting You In Their Shoes

World Vision | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Drought, Hunger, World Vision, Children, Nutrition, Health, West Africa, Chad, Mothers, World News

By Adel Sarkozi, World Vision communications officer in West Africa You are in a small health clinic in southern Chad. It is 9 a.m. The air is hot, d...

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Sabar: African Hip-Hop

Sasha Brookner | Posted 04.07.2012

Read More: West Africa, Hip Hop Culture, Hip Hop, Sabar, Hip-Hop, Africa, Dancing, Dance, African Music, African Dance, Culture News

There is much about the rich, earthy genre of dance from the African Diaspora that is worthy of intellectual exploration; it's a connection between worlds. African dance is celestial; transcending beyond just artistic expression, it contains movements of spirit possession.

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Sahel in 10 Pictures: The Food Crisis in West Africa

Louis Belanger | Posted 04.03.2012

Read More: West Africa, Oxfam, Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso, Niger, Food Crisis, Sahel, West Africa Food Crisis, Exposure, World News

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What The Peace Corp Taught Me About Failure

Maya Lau | Posted 01.17.2012

Read More: West Africa, Volunteering, Africa, Failure, Travel Blogs, Africa Travel, Peace Corps, Senegal, Volunteerism, Learning, Travel News

In West Africa, I confronted the "toubab" version of myself, a self previously foreign to me that was lethargic, cynical and at home with failure.

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Thailand's New Rice Policy Could Lead To International Food Price Crisis, Analysts Warn

HuffingtonPost.com | Saki Knafo | Posted 11.20.2011

Read More: Food Production, Usaid, Thailand, Central America, Somalia Famine, East Africa, Fews Net, Djibouti, High Food Prices, Famine, East Africa Famine, Africa, Haiti, West Africa, Somalia, Famine in Africa, Food Prices, World News

A program sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is warning of a possible spike in international rice prices, a d...

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Sex Tourism In Senegal

Maya Lau | Posted 11.07.2011

Read More: West Africa, Tourism, Sex, Africa, Senegal, Sex Tourism, Travel Blogs, Safari, Travel News

By night, the Europeans sit at long dinner tables by the pool, each of their arms slung around young Senegalese women. It's like they are all on a singles retreat or at a swingers' party. Everyone canoodles with everyone else.

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Impulse Travel Booking - Destination: Mali, West Africa

Teri Johnson | Posted 06.01.2012

Read More: International Destinations, Teri Johnson, Mali Travel, Oumou Sangare, Africa Travel, Djenné, Travelistas, Destinations, Vaccines, Mali, Impulse, Dogon, Visa, Antigua, Africa, Segou, West Africa, Yellow Fever, Travel News

My love affair with travel, language and adventure began when I was twelve on a six-city, 10-day trip around Mexico with my Spanish class. Nearly two...

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Abuja, Nigeria: Happy to Leave

Tamar Abrams | Posted 10.29.2011

Read More: Arlington Virginia, Megachurch, Africa, House on the Rock, United Nations, Abuja, Oil, West Africa, Nairobi, Nigeria, Pentacostal, World News

While Nigeria is clearly an undeveloped country, here it attempts to hide behind flashiness.

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Running Liberia

Philippa Young | Posted 10.21.2011

Read More: West Africa, Marathon, Monrovia, Liberia, Sports, Africa, Running, Competitive Event, Sports News

The first ever Liberan marathon is more than just a marathon; it's a landmark event for Liberia and, more importantly, for the Liberians who will watch their countrymen run on August 28th.

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Mediums and Their Political Messages

Paul Stoller | Posted 09.05.2011

If Republican leaders begin to act more like public servants and less like non-thinking fundamentalist soldiers, we might begin to repair our political system. If not, their absolutism will plunge us into unspeakable economic darkness.

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Anthony Weiner's Fair Weather Friends

Paul Stoller | Posted 08.14.2011

Read More: Social Boundaries, Politics, Anthony Weiner, President Obama, Loyalty, Austrailia, West Africa, Debbie Wasserman Shultz, Damage Control, Scandal, West African Societies, Transgression, Politics News

Congressman Weiner has fallen from grace with meteoric speed and his potential social restitution will be decidedly gradual. But will his experience of utter humiliation eventually make him a better public servant and a better human being?

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Once West Africa's Rising Star, Ivory Coast Faces Dangerous Horizon

Michelle Chen | Posted 06.09.2011

Read More: Libya, Colonialism, Civil War, Laurent Gbagbo, Sub-Saharan Africa, Conflict, Un Peacekeepers, Alassane Ouattara, Africa, United Nations, West Africa, Imf, Ivory Coast, Cote D'Ivoire, World News

The crisis engulfing the Ivory Coast is a lesson in how even the trappings of democracy can fail to keep a fragile nation from breaking apart. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

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Living With Cancer

Paul Stoller | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: West Africa, Healing, Remission, Cancer, Health, Illness, West Africa Anthropology, Lymphoma, Cancer Remission, West African Healer, Mortality, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Living With Cancer, Anthropology, West Africa Healing, Healthy Living News

When people sometimes suggest that I've "beat" cancer, or that I've put it put it behind me, I never agree. Once you've had cancer, I say to them, its presence never strays far from your awareness.

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Rape, Murder Accusations Taint Peace Corps' 50th Anniversary

Politics Daily | Donna Trussell | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Cheryl Beckett, John F. Kennedy, Benin, Daniela Beyer, Peace Corps, Kate Puzey, Karen Woo, West Africa, Congress, Volunteering, Deborah Gardner, World War II, Young Americans, Murder, Rape, Cover-Up, Impact News

On the night of March 11, 2009, a 24-year-old Peace Corps volunteer named Kate Puzey was tied up and knifed on the front porch of her house in West Af...

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Confronting the Rising Natural Disasters

Vinod Thomas | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Floods, West Africa, Natural Disasters, Pakistan, Evaluation, Haiti, World News

To be more effective in facing global natural disasters, both international institutions and governments need to have plans for early emergency relief and have a cadre of well-trained staff that can be deployed within hours of an emergency.

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Africa's Soccer Bite

Alan Black | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: West Africa, Chelsea Football Club, Didier Drogba, France, Agued, Ivory Coast, Football, Soccer, Malaria, Abidjan, Drogba, David Beckham, Malaria Nets, Sports News

Didier Drogba is a remarkable man. And in his native Ivory Coast, his voice reaches all. But last year, a virulent flying host stung the wings on his feet. He has never been the same.

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Ivory Coast: Standoff in an Imperfect Storm

Evelyn Leopold | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: France, Sanctions, Ecowas, Laurent Gbagbo, Goodluck Johnson, Alassane Ouattara, Russia, European Union, West Africa, United States, Nigeria, Un-Peacekeeping, Cote D'Ivoire, Zimbabwe-President-Robert-Mugabe, World News

Once known as the Paris of West Africa, the Ivory Coast has undergone a decade of turmoil. The latest deadlock threatens regional peace and could influence dozens of elections scheduled throughout the continent this year.

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