Africa Daily

“A lot of times women were the power behind the throne, so they never got documented.”

Women are often missing from historical records, their voices are not heard, their roles in society reduced to the background of a story. This is something that the Women’s History Museum of Zambia is trying to re-balance. Through examining how women often took a leadership role in indigenous culture, the founders of the museum, Samba Yonga and Mulenga Kapwepwe, are re-discovering the importance and power of women. And they say this process illustrates how long-lost cultural traditions have a relevance for women today.

Malaria, a preventable mosquito-borne disease, kills 600,000 people annually in Africa, most of them are children under five. Nigeria accounts for 30% of these deaths globally.

This week, the country started administering the R21 malaria vaccine to children aged 5 to 11 months, beginning in Bayelsa and Kebbi states, which have high infection rates. Developed by Oxford University and manufactured in India, the vaccine has 75% efficacy. With 1 million doses donated by Gavi, the campaign is expected to expand nationwide by 2025.

In today’s episode Alan Kasujja speaks to the BBC’s Health reporter Makuochi Okafor who was in Bayelsa this week and Professor Halidou Tinto, who helped to test the vaccine in Burkina Faso.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja. Guests: Makouchi Okafor, Halidou Tinto

In this episode, we explore President Joe Biden’s historic visit to Angola, his first and only trip to Africa during his presidency.

“We are encouraged by the fact that indigenous farmers will now have these land titles and may be able to find value in the land they own. It’s optimism with a lot of caution” – Zimbabwean farmer Kudakwashe Musasiwa

Guests: The BBC’s Shingai Nyoka and farmer Kudakwashe Musasiwa

This week campaigning in Ghana comes to an end as candidates make their final arguments in an election where every vote counts.

There will be a lot more on Ghana’s elections from our sister programme Newsday. James Copnall will be broadcasting live from the capital Accra on Friday morning- the day before polls open.

In today's podcast, we are looking at life for people with Down Syndrome in Africa. Down Syndrome is a genetic condition where a person is born with an extra chromosome; they’ll have an extra copy of chromosome 21, making 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. It alters the development of the body and brain, leading to delays in areas like speech.

In Africa, people with the condition often face additional barriers, a shorter life expectancy because of limited healthcare, delayed diagnosis, and scarce support systems. Opportunities for education and employment can also be hard to come by which exacerbates the stigma they experience.

So, what can be done to begin to change this?

Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja hears from Eunice Koros, a Kenyan mother, and her son Ivan Kiprono, a 26-year-old man with Down Syndrome who works at their family factory. He also speaks to David Maxwell, Project Manager for the Down Syndrome Association of Ghana, who shares how witnessing his sister’s life with the condition inspired him to advocate for change.

Last week the Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, appeared before a military court in Kampala, following his arrest in Kenya. His wife said he’d been abducted and driven overnight across the border into Uganda.

He denied charges including the illegal possession of firearms and negotiating to buy arms abroad, and objected to being tried in a court martial, saying that if there were any charges against him, he should be tried in a civilian court.

But Dr Besigye’s case is far from unique.

Over the decades hundreds of civilians have been tried in Uganda's military courts, despite Uganda’s Constitutional Court ruling against the practice. So why does it continue?

For Africa Daily Alan Kasujja speaks to director of Public Information for Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, Brigadier Felix Kulayigye, and with human rights lawyer Agather Athuhair who has campaigned against the use of the courts for civilians.

African negotiators at the COP29 left deflated and disappointed with the $300 billion deal reached at the summit, saying it fell short of their expectations.

Delegates from the continent at the summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, had called on rich nations to commit $1.3 trillion per year to help poor countries address climate change.

But after two weeks of intense negotiations a deal was reached, with rich nations agreeing to pay $300 billion annually to poorer countries.

But some expressed relief that a deal, at least, had been struck.

In this episode of Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja speaks to Uganda’s ambassador to the UN Adonia Ayebare, who was the lead negotiator for The Group of 77 plus China, representing the interests of 134 developing countries.

Producer: Peter Musembi

“The warrant signals to Israel, it signals to the supporters of Netanyahu [that] you have moved out of the realm of approval of a very great number of nations” – Professor Emeritus André Thomashausen, University of South Africa

"I was hoping that by 9 months I will be a mother, but then they told me that I will carry the baby for at least 1 year and 5 months. So, I did not understand."

A year-long investigation by the BBC's Africa Eye team has exposed how fraudsters in Nigeria are targeting women struggling with infertility with the promise of miracle babies in exchange for hundreds of dollars.

Vulnerable women are tricked into believing they’re pregnant and told delivery of their baby won’t happen without payment for an expensive drug. The film discovers a network of deception and exploitation involving the illegal trafficking of babies.

BBC reporter Ebere Ekeopara went undercover to expose one clinic in Anambra state, in southeastern Nigeria. She spoke to Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja about the stories of women convinced to carry “pregnancies” for over a year.