Chris and Erin McCurdy, American missionaries in Zambia, made a new friend in Lusaka who also loved baseball. While the three played a game of catch they noticed a young boy watching. They invited him over to play. Soon, other children joined in. Every Saturday more children showed up to play. February 2016, is when…
Five salons since 2012 have been offering more than just a beautiful head full of braids; these Conakry, Guinea, businesses are sharing information with their customers about contraception. This idea is new for many of their patrons. With Guinea women having an average of five children, and the lowest contraceptive use rates in the…
The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) promotes high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners. Japan proposed the conference to the United Nations in 1991 and held the first event in Tokyo in 1993. Subsequent meetings took place in 1998, 2003, 2008, and 2013 and most recently on Aug. 27-28, 2016.…
Unstoppable is the perfect word to describe the United States Women’s Basketball Team’s gold medal-winning performance at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. The Americans were unchallenged in the tournament, winning by an average of 40 points-per-game and eclipsing the 100-point mark in five of those victories. Some observers believe the gold standard was set by…
When news surfaced that the popular movie, Ghostbusters, was undergoing a remake with some interesting new characters, fans of the original were anxious to learn more. When the crew turned out to be a team of diverse yet hilarious women, not everybody was so excited any longer. Despite the fact that people had ill opinions…
African Models on the Rise Breaking into the seemingly glamorous world of modeling is no easy task, but models from African nations are taking the challenge in stride. Following in the steps of legends such as Iman and Alek Wek, a new generation is emerging on the international fashion scene. Amilna Estevao is just 17…
Dr. Satoshi Omura is a Japanese microbiologist who shared the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in developing Ivermectin, a highly effective and safe drug against parasitic worms in humans. It is a reformulated version of Avermectin, an equally successful drug that combats parasites in animals. He and Dr. William Campbell…
The Japanese African Business Initiative for Youth (ABE initiative) is a master’s degree and internship opportunity for young persons from Africa. Launched by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and introduced at the 5th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, the initiative began in 2013. It was created to develop human resources in Africa’s public and private…
Julian Assange, the controversial leader of Wikileaks, promised this week that his organization will continue its efforts to wreak havoc on the United States’ presidential election by releasing more emails that are reportedly damaging to Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Assange, who remains holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in…
The Affordable Care Act is legislation designed to improve the quality and cost of American healthcare. Among the many reasons that the ACA exists is to stop discrimination against poor and chronically ill patients. Prior to the ACA, insurance companies could refuse to cover people who had serious pre-existing or sudden onset conditions. Those…
Three UN bodies have joined forces this June to found the African Women Leaders Network. African women are often held up as the crucial players in community, governance, development, and peace programs throughout the Continent. The “Sustainable Development Goals” and the “Africa Agenda 2063” have both highlighted the role of women in everything from peacekeeping to food…
The first two decades of the 21st century will always be remembered for its high number of refugee crises that continue to unfold around the world. In 2016, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 65 million people have been displaced from their communities due to armed and socioeconomic conflict over the last…
Ever since its first show in 2001, the BET Awards remain one of the hottest music events of the year. Every summer, fans all over the nation get to watch their favorite artists (new and classic) perform and receive the coveted BET Award Trophy on the Black Entertainment Television network. This year’s show will honor both…
The international Group of Twenty forum will hold its next summit in July under the presidency of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is making a point of including African nations into the G20 framework despite South Africa being the only member of the bloc. Hamburg will be the host city of the next G20 summit; however, Chancellor…
