NIGER FIRST AFRICAN COUNTRY TO END RIVER BLINDNESS

Niger is the first African country in history to eliminate river blindness!

Officially known as onchocerciasis, infected black flies by rivers pass on the parasitic disease that has long caused blindness and incessant itching in humans across the African continent. The World Health Organization announced Niger’s achievement in January.

However, Niger is creating a new model for African healthcare systems. A year after ousting a Western-aligned leader in 2023, Niger lowered the cost of public health services, allowing more people to receive consultations, surgeries and treatments for diseases.

What lessons can other African countries take from Niger’s success in the face of this disease?

Video credit: @omsniger, @telesahel (IG) / @ortntele (X)

Continued…. Sources

https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/a-historic-milestone!-who-verifies-niger-free-of-onchocerciasis-as-the-first-country-on-the-african-continent

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0kxk1wj?at_link_type=web_link&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign_type=owned&at_medium=social&at_link_origin=BBCAfrica&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_id=6E0841F4-002A-11F0-A610-EC6CAE9E2946&at_format=image

https://www.aa.com.tr/fr/afrique/niger-sant%C3%A9-r%C3%A9duction-de-50-du-co%C3%BBt-des-soins-dans-les-structures-publiques/3311292#

https://end.org/nigers-defeat-of-river-blindness-helps-other-countries-see-the-way-forward

KENYANS EXPRESS SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE DURING QUDS DAY

Kenyans joined millions across the world on 28th March in commemorating International Quds Day, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Palestinian people, not just in solidarity but in shared struggle. International Quds Day is held on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Based in the capital of Nairobi, the Kenya-Palestine Solidarity Movement (KPSM) invited the public to attend speeches and exhibits showing the history of the Zionist occupation of Palestine, as well as draw parallels between western imperialism in Africa and the ongoing occupation of Palestinian land.

Continued….. Like many other African countries, Kenya has a history of fighting against colonialism. In the 1950s, the Kenya Land and Freedom Army also known as Mau Mau waged a war of resistance against the British colonial authorities. This anti-imperialist legacy is still embedded in ordinary citizens, even though the present government, led by president William Ruto, has issued statements in support of Israel.

Christian Zionism has a strong hold on many Africans. However, support for the Palestinian cause is gaining ground, as more and more Africans are rejecting the narrative peddled by the Global North - that Israel is the victim and Palestinians the aggressors. Israeli military onslaught in Gaza has k*lled over 186,000, according to a July 2024 Lancet (British medical journal) report.

In this report, Kenneth Kaigua shares with us this year’s commemorations, where voices rose not just in protest, but in anti-imperialist defiance.

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/5/what-is-al-quds-day. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2024/7/8/gaza-toll-could-exceed-186000-lancet-study-says

https://irfront.org/post/international-al-quds-day-the-last-friday-of-every-ramadan-14408

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/us-tells-kenya-to-support-israel-or-forget-free-trade-deal

Follow the money, they say - and you’ll see who’s really calling the shots. This applies especially to politics, where it’s often not politicians or the people who elected them that are guiding decisions, but the lobby groups making big party and campaign donations in whose interests the laws are written. That’s a fact captured by today’s words of wisdom, which have been attributed to various civil-rights leaders. Morality and the law do not always coincide. More often than not, legal codes enshrine not what is right but what is profitable. And the evils of slavery, apartheid and even colonialism were all legal and very profitable.

What laws in your country can you cite that align with greed over good?

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

WINNIE VS NELSON

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the passing of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a prominent figure in South Africa’s liberation movement, who died at the age of 81 in 2018.

Often referred to simply as ‘Nelson Mandela’s wife,’ her legacy extends far beyond that noscript. She was a powerful freedom fighter and organiser, known for her uncompromising stance, which at times surpassed that of her husband.

Winnie was also a political prisoner during the anti-apartheid movement, enduring imprisonment even while pregnant. She firmly believed that African people must liberate themselves by any means necessary, advocating for the right to use revolutionary violence in response to violent colonial oppression. This conviction created a rift between her and the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1990s.

Continued……Additionally, she argued for the redistribution of land in Azania - referring to regions in southern Africa, including South Africa and Zimbabwe - to the African populace. Her views on land reform clashed with Nelson Mandela’s more conciliatory approach, which many believe has contributed to ongoing inequality and the persistence of settler colonialism.

Winnie once stated, “I have a good relationship with Mandela. But I am not Mandela’s product. I am the product of the masses of my country and the product of my enemy.”

In a lecture delivered on 29 November 1993 at Kean College in New Jersey, pan-Africanist and former Nation of Islam leader Khalid Muhammad criticised Nelson Mandela while expressing his support for Winnie.

What are your thoughts on Muhammad’s comments?

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

Continued……. Having filed its case on 6 March, Khartoum requested that ICJ officials order emergency measures to compel the UAE to take action against genocidal activities in Darfur.

Even though both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the UAE-backed RSF have been accused of war crimes, a UN Fact-Finding mission singled out the RSF’s involvement in alarming levels of sexual violence against civilians, including the abduction and prolonged detention of women and girls for sexual slavery.

UN experts monitoring the arms embargo on Darfur have previously reported credible allegations of the UAE smuggling weapons to the RSF via Chad. Additionally, the RSF has systematically undermined Sudan’s agricultural production by looting farms, contaminating water supplies, and setting crops ablaze. The Genocide Watch reported in October 2024 that the RSF has also raided World Food Programme warehouses, stolen humanitarian aid, and hindered the delivery of assistance to millions in need.

The UAE described Sudan’s g*nocide application to the ICJ as lacking any factual basis.

Sources

https://sudantribune.com/article280766/ https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/evidence-points-to-uae-involvement-in-sudan-civil-war

https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/sudan-humanitarian-aid-blocked-and-looted#:~:text=The%20RSF%20has%20looted%2086,Sudan%20due%20to%20the%20fighting.

https://www.newarab.com/news/world-court-hear-sudan-genocide-case-against-uae

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w1nzpg5dgo

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250329-world-court-to-hear-sudan-case-accusing-uae-of-genocide/

https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/03/icj-to-hear-sudan-genocide-claim-against-uae/

https://www.jurist.org/news/2024/10/sudans-rsf-guilty-of-staggering-sexual-violence-in-ongoing-conflict/

https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session57/A-HRC-57-CRP-6-en.pdf

https://archive.ph/iiHxd

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-uae-sudan-weapons-report/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-sudan-paramilitary-group-is-preventing-life-saving-aid-from-famine-hit/

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-us-says-genocide-under-way-in-sudan-imposes-sanctions-on-rsf-commander/

SOMALIA OFFERS U.S. STRATEGIC PORTS

Why is Somalia offering the US access to key air bases and ports - especially given Washington’s role in destabilising the country? Our short video explains.

Sources

https://www.semafor.com/article/03/28/2025/somalia-offers-us-control-over-strategic-ports

https://www.semafor.com/article/03/28/2025/somalia-offers-us-control-over-strategic-ports

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/houthis-report-more-us-strikes-on-yemen-after-trump-warns-of-real-pain-to-come/ar-AA1C1QYO

https://jacobin.com/2022/11/somalia-cold-war-war-on-terror-us-intervention-destabilization

WHEN MALEMA TORE INTO WINNIE’S CRITICS AT MEMORIAL

Winnie Madikizela Mandela died on this day in 2018 at the age of 81. In honour of her fight against apartheid and oppression, we share this fiery and passionate speech from Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema at Orlando Stadium in Soweto during her memorial service.  In his eulogy, Malema hailed Winnie, whom he warmly referred to as ‘Mama,’ as a fearless anti-apartheid activist. But he also took the opportunity to call out individuals he believed had betrayed her during her lifetime.

Continued……Malema pointed the finger at African National Congress (ANC) figures who were praising Winnie at her funeral but who had previously abandoned, vilified and undermined her. In particular, he lashed out at the United Democratic Front (UDF) - an anti-apartheid coalition (operative 1983-1991, mostly while the ANC was banned) that had publicly disowned Winnie amid allegations her bodyguards had been involved in a murder and kidnapping case (one of them was indeed later convicted of murder). You can hear those he attacks in the crowd boo, but the packed stadium was overwhelmingly behind Μalema as he defended Winnie Mandela’s pivotal role in the anti-apartheid struggle. What do you make of his speech?

Video credit: SABC News

Sources

https://x.com/whatMackSays/status/1905207375209935254

Continued……. This new dossier comes on the heels of South Africa’s Memorial document. Filed in October 2024, it details evidence and legal arguments supporting claims of acts of genocide. While the complete Memorial is not publicly accessible, South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has released a public dossier containing evidence related to the case.

Sources

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/icj-southafrica-israel-genocide-29dec2023/

https://dirco.gov.za/south-africa-delivers-evidence-of-israel-genocide-to-icj/

https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203447

Continued….. This is not the first time the US has weaponised sanctions to shield its allies from accountability. On 6 February, US President Donald Trump adopted an Executive Order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), authorising asset freezes and entry bans on ICC officials. The sanctions also extended to other non-US persons providing support to the court’s work. In a 10 February statement, UN experts condemned these sanctions stating that the US was empowering “war criminals by seeking to punish the ICC, denying justice and reparation to thousands of victims around the world, including women and children.”

The Lancet medical journal estimates that between October 2023 and July 2024, Israel k*lled more than 186,000 Palestinians. Another Lancet report estimates that the official death toll of 37,877 over that period, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, may have been under-counted by as much as 41 per cent.

Since World War 2, Israel has been the single largest recipient country of US aid, and since 7 October 2023, the US has provided a further $12.5 billion in direct military aid to Israel, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). It is widely accepted by experts and activists that Israel’s decades-long onslaught on Palestinians would not be possible - at least at such scale - without US funding and support. This begs the question, is the US government making threats against the ICC and the UN simply to protect Israel, a genocidal ally, or to protect itself as an equal partner and enabler?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Sources

https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/250331-TO-Sec.-Gen.-Guterres-Mast-and-Risch-HRC-IIM.pdf

https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/34/38

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/imposing-sanctions-on-the-international-criminal-court/

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/united-states-un-experts-condemn-sanctions-against-icc

https://www.cfr.org/article/us-aid-israel-four-charts

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/history-and-overview-of-u-s-foreign-aid-to-israel

https://asf.be/the-us-sanctions-against-the-international-criminal-court-curtails-the-ability-of-victims-globally-to-obtain-justice/

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)02678-3/fulltext