Category: Africa

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Richard Fosu, Lecturer in International Relations, Monash University

When violent conflict erupts in Africa, attention often turns to the United Nations, major powers, or external donors. Yet over the past two decades, the African Union (AU) has become one of the continent’s most important peace and security actors.

From Burundi and Sudan to Somalia, Mali and the Central African Republic, the AU and regional African organisations have deployed peace operations, mediated conflicts, monitored elections and supported political transitions.

These interventions reflect a broader ambition that Africans should play a leading role in addressing Africa’s peace and security challenges.

Despite the growing importance of these interventions, surprisingly little effort has been made to assess what’s been learned from the expanding research scholarship on them.

We are researchers interested in AU peace and security interventions. In a recent scoping review of 186 peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2026, we examined four major themes in the literature:

• AU approaches to peace and security intervention

• legitimacy of AU interventions, particularly among local populations

• effectiveness of AU intervention in achieving long term peace and security

• ownership of AU intervention both at the institutional level and among local populations.

We conclude from the review that debates about AU interventions are often framed too narrowly. Some accounts celebrate African agency and present AU interventions as a clear alternative to external intervention. Others emphasise dependence, limited capacity and operational failures.

The evidence suggests the reality is more complex. AU peace and security interventions are neither clear success stories nor simple cases of dependence on external support. Instead, they show how African actors are increasingly shaping responses to conflict while working with international partners.

The findings reveal both the promise and the limitations of AU peace and security interventions.

From non-intervention to non-indifference

The AU emerged in 2002 from the former Organisation of African Unity (OAU), an institution often criticised for reluctance to interfere in atrocities and armed conflicts.

The new AU argued that sovereignty came with responsibility. Article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act gives it the right to intervene in member states in cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The result has been far more intervention than before. Over the past two decades, the AU and regional bodies have deployed at least 28 missions to help manage conflicts, support peace processes and improve security.

Legitimacy

The papers we analysed showed that many people regard AU interventions as legitimate because they are “African solutions to African problems”. It reflects a belief that Africans are responsible for managing the continent’s security challenges.

This legitimacy is not merely symbolic. Research suggests that African mediators and peace operations often benefit from being closer to the situation than external actors are.

In some contexts, research shows that shared experiences can make local actors more willing to engage with African-led initiatives.

Effectiveness

The reviewed evidence shows that AU interventions have become more important because they provide practical responses to the continent’s security challenges.

Our research shows that, at a time when UN peace operations are declining and international attention is shifting elsewhere, African organisations are often the first responders to emerging crises.

AU missions have gone where external actors were reluctant to intervene because conflicts were still active. Examples include Somalia and Sudan.

In many cases, the literature suggests, conditions on the ground would likely have been worse without AU involvement. In Comoros in 2008 and Burundi in 2003, for example, AU intervention helped contain instability and support political stabilisation at critical moments.

Ownership

One of the most striking findings we made is that the AU has developed a different approach to intervention from the United Nations.

AU interventions are often defined less by peacekeeping principles – consent, impartiality and the limited use of force – and more by their practical function: creating conditions in which peace can emerge.

The African Union Mission in Somalia became the clearest example of this approach. Rather than monitoring an existing peace agreement, it conducted operations against insurgents while supporting state-building efforts.

The challenge of dependency

The literature also identified challenges.

The most persistent concern is external financial dependence. Although interventions are frequently presented as African-led, many rely heavily on funding from partners such as the European Union and the United Nations. Critics argue that financial dependence limits the AU’s ability to decide on its peace and security priorities.

Some scholars have asked whether interventions can truly be considered “African solutions” when they depend on external resources.

At the same time, more recent research offers a more nuanced picture. Rather than seeing African actors as passive recipients of external support, it shows how they often negotiate, adapt and use external resources to advance their own priorities.

Agency and dependence, in other words, can coexist.

Legitimacy depends on more than good intentions

Another major finding concerns legitimacy.

The AU is often expected to solve difficult security crises. Yet a number of factors get in its way. Our review identified a few:

• lack of the resources required to meet peace and security expectations

• weak coordination with sub-regional organisations

• inconsistent implementation of norms, particularly those relating to military coups and unconstitutional changes of government

• uneven political support for intervention.

Scholars are also asking not just whether interventions are authorised by governments or international institutions, but whether the people most affected by them see them as legitimate.

The findings of this research suggest that local populations often evaluate interventions based on tangible outcomes: security, stability and everyday experiences, rather than legal mandates or diplomatic rhetoric.

Beyond the debate between success and failure

As insecurity persists across parts of Africa and UN peace operations continue to decline, a hybrid model is likely to become even more important. The challenge for the AU is not simply to intervene more. It is to strengthen local ownership, reduce financial vulnerabilities, improve coordination and produce effective and legitimate outcomes.

Beatrice Anowah Brew, an independent researcher and peacebuilding practitioner, is a co-author of this article.

– African Union peacekeeping is growing as UN missions decline: research finds a mixed record of success
– https://theconversation.com/african-union-peacekeeping-is-growing-as-un-missions-decline-research-finds-a-mixed-record-of-success-290753

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Jerome Loveland, Head of Transplant Surgery at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre, and Academic Head of Transplantation, University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa is no stranger to organ transplants. The world’s first heart transplant was performed in the country in the 1960s. There have been major developments in the decades since then. In the 1980s an organ donor registry was set up and local surgeons have been pushing the boundaries of what is possible. The Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre recently marked a milestone of completing 1,000 liver transplants since initiating its programme in 2004.

The Conversation Africa asked Jerome Loveland, head of transplant surgery at the centre and academic head of transplantation at the University of the Witwatersrand, about the current state – and future – of liver transplantation in the country.

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How has the liver transplant landscape in South Africa changed?

In the 1980s, the University of Cape Town started to build a deceased donor liver transplant programme. It became the centre of liver transplantation in South Africa for decades.

When we at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre started our own unit around 2004, it shifted the landscape. Obviously, it’s never smooth, and one of the most limiting factors around transplantation is the availability of deceased donor organs.

Right from the beginning we were looking for ways to optimise the use of the livers that did become available. Very early on we embarked on more complex transplants, like reducing a whole liver into a small piece to put into a child, or dividing a whole liver into two usable pieces where one piece goes to an adult and the other to a child. So “split liver” transplants allowed us to use those livers optimally.

From there, we expanded into living donor transplantation, typically from a parent to a child, and then transplants across the blood group barrier. We were the first in South Africa to perform transplants in patients with acute liver failure. All these key moments have allowed us to optimise the organs available and we’ve become a relatively high-volume centre.

What other developments have changed things?

The most recent game-changer is machine perfusion of the liver. This machine allows us to resuscitate and store donor organs more viably for extended periods of time. We have introduced this technology as the standard of care for our extended criteria donor livers, which include livers from older donors. Donald Gordon is currently the only unit in Africa using this technology.

It allows us to transplant an additional 10% to 15% of livers that we otherwise wouldn’t have used, as we would have most likely discarded them as unsafe to use. With the resuscitative component of machine perfusion, we can now use these livers with confidence.

Most importantly, the machine resuscitates the donor liver so that once it’s put into the recipient it functions much better and much sooner. It avoids what we call early graft dysfunction. It has a whole lot of benefits in terms of avoiding complications in the recipient, and reduces the costs of post-operative care.

We are excited to prove the cost-benefit to funders over the next 10 to 20 transplants.

With all these advancements, what challenges remain?

The availability of deceased donor organs is what drives the waiting list. We’ve got the capacity from a staffing and a hospital perspective to double our transplants per month very easily. We currently do about 50 to 60 liver transplants a year, or one a week.

There are still patients who fall off the waiting list because they get too ill or because they die.

My message for South Africans is to become organ donors when you die. By donating one’s organs you’re saving seven lives, probably more. There are seven recipients of those solid organs that will have a life-changing transplant. The register is run by the Organ Donor Foundation; people can sign up to be donors on their website.

South Africa runs a single waiting list for all transplant recipients, whether from the private or public sector. It’s estimated that more than 4,000 people in the country are waiting for an organ transplant. These patients are all discussed and listed at a collaborative weekly meeting, and deceased donor organs are allocated to the sickest patient on the list.

Has the demand for liver transplants increased over the last 20 years?

Yes. We have broadened our criteria for patients who are eligible for transplantation, such as transplanting for acute liver failure and for certain liver malignancies with strict criteria. These are categories of patients who benefit greatly, but it does add pressure to the system.

I think this increase is driven less by rising lifestyle diseases like obesity or alcohol use, and more by increased awareness. Physicians are better at diagnosing end-stage liver disease and referring patients, and patients themselves are becoming more self-aware. They are asking the right questions and self-referring to the hospital. Before, someone with end-stage disease might have just been palliated until the end, but now patients are seeking out transplantation. That is a very positive development.

– From split livers to machine perfusion: the 20-year evolution of liver transplants in South Africa
– https://theconversation.com/from-split-livers-to-machine-perfusion-the-20-year-evolution-of-liver-transplants-in-south-africa-290005

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Arthur Shirichena, PhD candidate aviation law, University of Manchester

When conflict erupted in the Middle East in 2026, the consequences were felt far beyond the region. One was the disruption to Gulf airspace. The ripple effects hit the global aviation network, including Africa.

Airlines have been forced to reroute flights and there’s been a spike in operating costs, delayed cargo and disrupted passenger travel. For Africa, the crisis has exposed a weakness that has existed for decades: dependence on external transit hubs for international and even intra-African connectivity.

For many African travellers, reaching another African destination often requires going through Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi or Istanbul, or Europe.

The recent disruptions show the risks of relying too heavily on infrastructure beyond the continent’s control. Direct intra-African connectivity would improve efficiency and the resilience of the continent’s aviation system.

Africa’s external aviation dependence has historical roots. Colonial air networks were designed to connect African territories with European capitals rather than with one another. After independence, states established national flag carriers. But commercial agreements and international routes remained oriented towards former colonial powers.

My work as an aviation law researcher examines African air transport liberalisation, regional integration and the legal frameworks governing how airlines access markets. My research has highlighted a persistent contradiction: Africa has enormous aviation potential, yet fragmented markets and weak intra-African connectivity. This leaves it dependent on foreign airlines and external hubs.

The African Airlines Association estimates that non-African carriers still operate almost 70% of Africa’s intercontinental capacity. This means that disruptions thousands of kilometres away can quickly become crises for African connectivity, trade and costs.

The Gulf crisis is a wake-up call. Every rerouted flight, delayed shipment and increased fuel bill illustrates the costs of fragmented markets and weak institutional coordination.

Africa’s aviation resilience will depend on building airports or expanding airline fleets, and on strengthening the institutions that govern the sector.

The cost

The costs of an unstable Gulf region are immediate. Airlines are forced onto longer routes, consuming more fuel and increasing crew costs. Insurance premiums rise as flights operate closer to conflict zones. Aircraft use declines, causing delays across entire networks.

These expenses are passed on to passengers and exporters.

The timing could hardly be worse. African airlines already have some of the world’s highest operating costs. Aviation fuel accounts for between 30% and 40%. It is more expensive at many African airports than at major hubs in Europe or the Middle East. This is due to import dependence, taxes, fragmented supply chains and limited refining capacity.

Higher fuel prices affect all airlines operating from those airports. However, African carriers are more exposed to these elevated costs. This is because many conduct a larger share of their operations within the continent. This puts them at a competitive disadvantage and limits the affordability of intra-African air services.

Even before the latest Gulf tensions, many African carriers had to compete against larger international airlines with economies of scale and integrated fuel supply systems. Longer flight paths caused by airspace closures amplify this disadvantage.

The consequences extend beyond passenger transport. Africa increasingly relies on air cargo to export fresh vegetables to global markets. These products depend on predictable schedules. Delays of only a few hours can reduce quality, increase wastage and undermine the competitiveness of African exporters.

Opportunities

The crisis also reveals opportunities.

It highlights the strategic importance of African aviation hubs such as Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Johannesburg, Cairo and Casablanca. These hubs could absorb a greater share of traffic if:

• they were supported by efficient visa regimes

• air services were co-ordinated

• airport infrastructure was modernised.

But infrastructure alone won’t solve Africa’s aviation challenges. The continent needs institutions that can coordinate responses during a crisis.

Ethiopian Airlines shows what is possible with coherent institutional support and operational autonomy. But it’s the exception. Many African airlines face restrictive market access, inconsistent regulatory environments and fragmented continental connectivity.

What’s in place

Over the past three decades, the continent has established a legal and institutional framework to promote aviation integration.

But progress has been virtually non-existent. Liberalisation intentions have been undermined by:

• uneven implementation

• weak institutional coordination

• the preference of many governments to put national interests ahead of continental commitments.

To give fresh impetus to their efforts, African Union member states took further steps in 2026.

They signed the Lomé Declaration, a commitment to speed up progress towards a single market in air traffic.

They also signed the Yamoussoukro Decision, a legal framework for intra-African air transport.

What’s missing

Firstly, the focus must be on getting it done. The African Civil Aviation Commission needs a stronger mandate and adequate resources to:

• coordinate continent-wide crisis responses

• monitor member states’ compliance with commitments

• publish periodic assessments of what’s been done

• facilitate closer cooperation between national civil aviation authorities, regional economic communities and the African Union Commission.

Secondly, enforcement. This is one of the greatest weaknesses facing African aviation integration. Airlines still encounter route denials, discriminatory treatment or regulatory barriers despite formal commitments.

Thirdly, the existing Single African Air Transport Market dispute settlement mechanism should be strengthened. It would serve two purposes:

• adjudicate when disagreements arise between states or between regulators

• reinforce confidence among investors and airlines that African aviation operates under predictable and enforceable rules.

External shocks often encourage governments to shield national carriers. Airlines need assurance that agreed rules will be applied consistently, regardless of political or economic pressures.

The European Union offers an important lesson. The success of Europe’s single aviation market came through liberalisation as well as strong institutions. They can interpret rules consistently and resolve disputes authoritatively.

Opening of markets must go with enforcing rules.

– Africa’s air travel is reliant on distant hubs: why it’s time to fix this
– https://theconversation.com/africas-air-travel-is-reliant-on-distant-hubs-why-its-time-to-fix-this-288049

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Saeed Akannah Junior, Lecturer, School of Build Environment, Bolgatanga Technical University

When people discuss architecture in Ghana, attention often focuses on modern buildings: concrete houses, glass offices, shopping malls and ambitious urban developments. Yet across the country, another architectural tradition continues to offer lessons about how people have built and lived for generations.

This is vernacular architecture. It is not uniquely Ghanaian. The term refers to buildings and settlements shaped largely by local knowledge, materials, construction techniques, cultural practices and environmental conditions of a particular region. It is not simply old or traditional architecture. Rather, it represents knowledge developed through many years of observation, adaptation and experience.

In Ghana, this relationship appears in the use of earth, timber, thatch and other locally available materials. Compounds arranged around courtyards, designs that respond to sunlight and prevailing winds, shaded outdoor spaces and settlement patterns that reflect social relationships and communal life.

These features emerged over generations. Communities learned how materials behaved, how buildings responded to seasonal changes and how spaces could support private and collective activities.

I am an architect who has researched and taught building technology for a decade. In a recent paper, I examine how vernacular architecture in Ghana has been understood, documented and interpreted.

A key finding from my study is that Ghana’s vernacular architecture is not a single tradition but a diverse body of knowledge shaped by climate and community. There are examples in the hot-dry savannah belt, the warm-humid forest belt and hot-humid coastal zones. Communities developed distinct building strategies in response to heat, rainfall, humidity, local materials and everyday life.

I conclude that the future lies in bringing that knowledge into today’s architectural design. Where appropriate, it can be done through materials, spatial arrangements and the way a building works with its environment.

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Read more: 5 lessons from ancient civilizations for keeping homes cool in hot, dry climates

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More than old buildings

For my research, I drew on the work of scholars who have helped document and interpret vernacular architectural knowledge in Ghana.

For example, architect and researcher Labelle Prussin examined northern Ghanaian settlements and household architecture. She demonstrated how building forms were closely related to social organisation, culture and the environment. Her work helped establish the importance of understanding African architecture through its social and environmental context.

The late German architect and scholar Hannah Schreckenbach also documented indigenous building practices and construction technologies in Ghana. She contributed to wider recognition of local architectural knowledge and its relevance to architectural education and practice.

My work is different. It brings together the environmental, cultural, spatial, material and institutional dimensions of vernacular architecture. This approach helps connect earlier documentation of vernacular buildings with their continuing relevance to Ghana’s built environment.

The findings also show why vernacular architecture should not be viewed simply as a record or symbol of the past. Preserving buildings is important, but vernacular architecture is also a living body of knowledge.

A vernacular building contains information about climate, materials, construction, social organisation and cultural identity. Its walls, openings, courtyards and orientation work together as a system. Through it, communities respond to environmental conditions and social needs. This knowledge matters as Ghana faces rapid urbanisation, rising construction costs, climate pressures and growing demand for buildings that consume less energy and fewer resources.

It’s not a complete solution for every building, but offers principles that architects can reinterpret through modern technologies and materials.

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Read more: Keep buildings cool as it gets hotter by resurrecting traditional architectural techniques – podcast

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What needs to be kept, what is no longer relevant?

This knowledge, however, is vulnerable. Rapid urbanisation, changing lifestyles, imported materials, standardised building practices and the perception that concrete represents progress can push aside vernacular knowledge.

When an earth building disappears, we lose more than a physical structure. We also lose knowledge about preparing materials, responding to climate, organising spaces and involving communities in construction and use. However, this does not mean every vernacular building should be kept unchanged.

For example, traditional earth construction may require improved foundations and moisture protection. Thatched roofs may need some changes to details to make them safer and longer lasting. Traditional layouts may have to adapt to sanitation, accessibility and household requirements.

A better question is: what knowledge from the past can help us build the future?

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Read more: Cities like Lagos need building designs that don’t just copy global styles

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Rethinking progress

Sustainable architecture cannot simply mean importing technologies that were developed elsewhere. It must also recognise knowledge that already exists within communities. Sustainability is not new.

Communities have long developed ways of building that respond to climate, resources, cultural values and collective needs.

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Read more: South Africa’s modern rondavels: family homes may be changing, but traditions remain

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The future will not be found by choosing between vernacular and modern architecture. It lies in bringing older knowledge into today’s design. Earth construction can be improved, not abandoned. Passive cooling can inform contemporary design. Courtyard principles can inform modern housing. Local materials can be reconsidered alongside appropriate technologies.

Ghana’s vernacular architecture is not simply an inheritance from yesterday.

It is a resource for tomorrow.

– Ghana’s local architecture has adapted to change for centuries. It can teach us about climate resilience
– https://theconversation.com/ghanas-local-architecture-has-adapted-to-change-for-centuries-it-can-teach-us-about-climate-resilience-290552