He recalls the popular challenge now underway against Omar al-Bashir’s rule in Sudan; the deaths of Kofi Annan, the first African secretary General of UN, and Winnie Mandela, a flawed leader of the South African liberation movement; the highly positive emergence of the reform-minded Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister; and the international attention to Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege, who won a Nobel Peace prize for his work with rape victims.

When COVID-19 struck, public health experts predicted that it would be particularly devastating in sub-Saharan Africa. A UN agency estimated that, in the worst case scenario, 3.3 million Africans would die from the disease.

This update represents violence in Nigeria and related to Boko Haram in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger from August 22 to 28, 2020.

Omoyele Sowore, human rights activist and former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, was arrested New Year’s Eve following a peaceful protest in the capital, Abuja.

This update represents violence in Nigeria and related to Boko Haram in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger from March 7 to 13, 2020.