The African Union has been a battleground for many years -- between north and south in the continent,  between more conservative and more radical regimes,  and amongst different linguistic groupings.   It has been rare to see unity achieved and common purposes pursued.

But Libya's President Gadhafi,  who has headed the AU this past year,  brought a particularly acute challenge to the organization.  Not only is the self-styled "King of Kings" an erratic and unpredictable individual,   but the...

The last I had heard from my friend and former student,  Malvin,  was when he and his wife circulated a picture recently of their new child.   Life in Jos seemed good.   But today he was back in touch,   his email grim with despair.

"The death and destruction here in Jos,"  he writes,  "has been unbelievable." 

"There are close to 400 deaths,"   he reports,  "and over 4000 people in refugee camps."   Tensions are high,  banks are closed,   other businesses are refusing  to open and the cost of...

It has struck me hard this holiday season how dramatic the changes have been in Africa during this past decade.   As my family talked on Christmas Eve,  via Skype on our computers,   with other parts of the extended family in Accra in Ghana,   our pictures communicating clearly to each other,   I remembered the problems even telephoning from North America to West Africa just ten years ago.    Many parts of Africa are now connected directly and easily with the rest of the world -- and more...

Back when I first lived in Africa,  my most vivid memory is of driving back towards Nairobi from north of Mount Kenya,  on a rutted, dusty road,   and discovering that the Tana River bridge we had to cross was collapsed.   Our only option was to drive through the flowing current -- but we stalled ten feet from the shore.   There we sat,  seemingly alone and surrounded by water in the wilderness.  Then suddenly,  improbably,   dozens of youngsters appeared from a nearby village,   rushed down to...

With the year,  and the decade,  winding down,  is it a time for pessimism or optimism about the years ahead in Africa?  This 2008-9 period in particular has been tough in economic terms for the continent,  so it would be hard to justify unbridled enthusiasm about African prospects.   But there are enough positive signs that the naysayers sound extreme when they promote their prophecies of total doom and gloom. 

Is it appropriate,  then,  to say the glass is half-full (with an emphasis on the...

According to the BBC,  agreement has just been reached between north and south in Sudan on how the 2011 southern independence referendum will work.  "With this agreement,"  says the Secretary General of the Southern People's Liberation Movement (SPLM,)   Pagan Amum,  "we announce the end of the crisis between the two partners." 

Just a few days ago,  that crisis was accelerating,   with several SPLM leaders arrested during December 7th demonstrations.   But strong U.S. and U.N. reactions against...

With its well-staffed central bank,   its experienced statistical agency and its network of independent financial institutions,   South Africa has virtually as complete a system of economic indicators emerging month-by-month as any European or North American economy.   This has underlined the serious decline the country has experienced since the world credit crisis in the second half of 2008.   Month after month,   data emerged showing South African export reductions,  output cutbacks, ...

In an extraordinary harsh attack at the end of last week,  South Africa's Jacob Zuma went before a meeting of African National Congress (ANC) veterans,   and laced into his own party.  "Money and positions have undermined the ANC,"  he warned,  according to The Times of South Africa.  "They sought to change the character and values of the ANC."    The party needed to recapture its discipline and commitment to provide South Africa with leadership.

Zuma's criticisms,  combined with the judgement...

Across much of Africa,  inter-regional and related inter-ethnic tensions are a major source of conflict -- sometimes political,   often economic,  and too often violent.   In Sudan,  fighting has devastated communities in Darfur and in the South;  in Nigeria,  battles have marked the Delta region;   in Senegal,   violence in Casamance continues to break out;  and killings persist in parts of Congo.

Ghana has been largely able to avoid such armed struggle,   despite significant regional economic...

As the holiday season looms,   just a few weeks away,  thoughts of many are turning to complicated preparations that must be made.   Where will we be on what date,  my family ponders,  how will we all manage to meet?   How can we possibly figure out what gifts to buy?

In the midst of this busy planning,   international NGO's and development institutions -- more than ever this year -- are providing creative ideas for managing these gift lists.  Why not provide useful help to counter poverty,  in...