Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

October 3, 2025

open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · 26d

September 12, 2025

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Sep 5

10 years of This Week in Africa! open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...

September 5, 2025

thisweekinafrica.substack.com/p/this-week-...

1 3

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Aug 23

thisweekinafrica.substack.com

August 22, 2025

Reposted

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · Jun 30

Child mortality in Malawi has fallen by more than 80% since 1990

A line graph illustrating the trend in child mortality in Malawi from 1990 to 2022. In 1990 the share of newborns who died before the age of 5 was almost 25%. In 2022 this had fallen to 4%.

Data source: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, 2024

3 10 81

Reposted

Our World in Data @ourworldindata.org · May 19

Despite being preventable and treatable, malaria is the leading cause of child mortality in much of Sub-Saharan Africa—

In 2021, malaria was the leading cause of death among children under five in more than 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

2 21 48

Reposted

The Conversation Africa @africa.theconversation.com · May 18

Food insecurity fuels terrorism in Africa, creating a vicious cycle of hunger and conflict.

theconversation.com/terrorists-u...

#Politics

Terrorists use food as a weapon: how Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab exploit hunger

Terror groups use food as a tool to fight, govern and survive.

theconversation.com

17 25

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · May 11

This Week in Africa
open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...

May 9, 2025

Redefining America’s Interests? Trump’s FY2026 Budget Proposes Sweeping Cuts to US Foreign Aid

Reposted

Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · May 8

The Trump admin’s FY2026 budget proposes deep cuts to US dev. & humanitarian aid, reflecting a shift in global engagement.

@ecollinson.bsky.social & @justinrhurley.bsky.social highlight a key choice for Congress: endorse this retreat or pursue a more balanced approach ⬇️
bit.ly/3Z8LIRU

The Trump administration unveiled an overview of its FY2026 budget request on Friday. While short on details, the document offers a grim forecast for US development and humanitarian spending. In seeki...

bit.ly

2 1

Reposted

Ken Opalo @kopalo.bsky.social · Apr 22

Happy to share my inaugural series of capsule reviews for @foreignaffairs.com: www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/afri...

It’s an immense honor to be following in the footsteps of the late Nic van de Walle in this role.

An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence

Badawi’s encyclopedic survey of African history is an important installment in the current wave of scholarship on the deep histories of African societies.

www.foreignaffairs.com

1 10 35

Reposted

Rachel Savage @rachelmsavage.bsky.social · Apr 22

“If someone licked my heart, they’d be poisoned.”

The M23's takeover of territory in eastern DRC has killed thousands, displaced hundreds of thousands and also caused a huge mental health crisis.

Story by Prosper Heri Ngorora and Carlos Mureithi

‘I hope I’ll one day be at peace’: civilians seek mental health help in war-ravaged eastern DRC

People traumatised by conflict have queued outside the Saint Vincent de Paul neuropsychiatric hospital in Goma each day since free scheme launched

www.theguardian.com

3 1

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Apr 18

This Week in Africa
open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...

April 18, 2025

Claiming the city: Citizenship and political connections in African neighborhoods

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Apr 16

Check out our new article! Claiming the city: Citizenship and political connections in African neighborhoods. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Rapid urbanization is changing the way Africans experience and engage the state in their everyday lives, creating new opportunities for urban claim-ma…

www.sciencedirect.com

2

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Apr 11

This Week in Africa
open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...

April 11, 2025

Rwanda’s image abroad: how western countries are beginning to turn their backs

1 1

Reposted

The Conversation Africa @africa.theconversation.com · Apr 9

#Rwanda’s involvement in the #DRC has damaged the goodwill it used to enjoy from western powers.

theconversation.com/rwandas-imag...

#Politics

Rwanda’s involvement in the DRC has damaged the goodwill it used to enjoy from western powers.

theconversation.com

Africa’s refugee camps are plagued by flooding: we looked into drainage systems that can withstand local conditions

Reposted

The Conversation Africa @africa.theconversation.com · Apr 9

Refugee camps in #Ethiopia need to be made more liveable. Creating wetlands to provide greenery, absorb flash floods and purify polluted water may help.

theconversation.com/africas-refu...

#EnvironmentAndEnergy

Refugee camps in Ethiopia need to be made more liveable. Creating wetlands to provide greenery, absorb flash floods and purify polluted water may help.

theconversation.com

1 3

Reposted

Tony Addison @tonysangle.bsky.social · Apr 8

📉Commodies sold off following Trump’s tariffs & China’s retaliation (on expectations of slower world growth)

⚠️bad news for poorer econonomies dependent on commodity earnings.

👉🏼How to manage such shocks? See our new @unu-wider.bsky.social book (open access) www.wider.unu.edu/publication/...

UNU-WIDER : Book : Resources Matter

Almost everything that is essential to modern society—transport and power systems, buildings, machinery, and medical devices—depends upon metals, minerals, and stone as well as oil and natural gas whi...

www.wider.unu.edu

2 2

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Apr 5

African States sunypress.edu/Books/A/Afri...

African States

sunypress.edu

1 2

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Apr 4

This Week in Africa
open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...

April 4, 2025

The USAID Shutdown: Where Next?

Reposted

Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · Mar 31

With #USAID contractors shuttered, staff terminated, and the agency’s financial system largely non-operational, @charlesjkenny.bsky.social urges that action from Congress is needed to ensure that already appropriated funds are responsibly spent.

Read more ⬇️

The State Department is floating foreign assistance reorganization proposals. While there is surely a lot that could be done to make US foreign assistance more effective, I hope Congress focuses on…

bit.ly

4 10

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Mar 21

This Week in Africa
open.substack.com/pub/thisweek...

March 21, 2025

Building the City from Below: Toward a Citizen-Centered City-Making | African Studies Review | Cambridge Core

jwpaller.bsky.social @jwpaller.bsky.social · Mar 21

Check out my new review essay "Building the City from Below: Toward a Citizen-Centered City-Making": www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Building the City from Below: Toward a Citizen-Centered City-Making

www.cambridge.org

2 3

Reposted

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Mar 21

This week's links include how having a fast train to take you long distances makes you more likely to buy an EV, do Ethiopians prefer better housing in the outskirts or a central slum, DiD with weights, and more...
blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

Weekly links March 21: Ethiopian housing, Chinese rail, DiD, an online course, and more…

blogs.worldbank.org

1 4

Reposted

Rachel Savage @rachelmsavage.bsky.social · Mar 21

Four years and one civil war later...

Samuel Gebre @habesha.bsky.social · Mar 21

Ethiopia has reached an Agreement in Principle with its Official Creditor Committee to restructure $8.4 billion of public debt under the G20 Common Framework, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance. Source: lnkd.in/gFNbWDTb