What We’re Reading 8/21/09

Aug 21st, 2009 10:13 AM UTC
By Steve Wilson

Financial Times—Downturn hastens Nigeria’s ‘brain gain’
A growing number of African professionals, who once dreamt of a future abroad, now believe the opportunities in their home countries eclipse anything on offer in the west. Spurred on by job losses in places like London and New York City, this stream of returnees is just one strand in a complex shift in global migration patterns shaped by the financial crisis, the Financial Times writes. After decades in which a “brain drain” robbed the continent of many talented workers, decisions by thousands of educated professionals to come home reflect a more optimistic vision of the future.

AllAfrica.com—African Continent’s Population Reaches One Billion
One billion people now live in Africa, says a new report. The continent’s population is growing by about 24 million a year, and will double to nearly two billion by 2050. The report also reveals that sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s most youthful population. These statistics, including more on health and disease on the continent, have been released by a Washington-based non-profit organization in a report published jointly with USAID.

Financial Times—Zimbabwe needs the west to engage Mugabe (op-ed)
It is time for western governments to swallow their pride, re-engage in Zimbabwe and do business with Robert Mugabe, an op-ed argues in the Financial Times. “The country’s battered people urgently need help: compassion and self-interest demands that the west provide it; the future of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change could well depend on it; and the recent announcement that China has offered Zimbabwe a US$950m loan should concentrate policymakers’ minds on it,” it says.

Reuters—WFP to start air drops in southern Sudan
The United Nations’ food agency will start air drops of food over parts of southern Sudan that could be in a “pre-famine” stage, it said on Thursday.

The Citizen (Tanzania)—Keeping Malaria At Bay a Healthy Goal (editorial)
An editorial in the Tanzanian newspaper The Citizen discusses the country’s fight against malaria, writing that great progress is possible against this number one killer in the country, but that funds are not always being spent effectively. The paper writes, “We hope the Government will move quickly to address the shortcomings pointed out and punish the officials whose apathy and ineptitude have shamed us all. Efforts to eradicate malaria must go into overdrive…It’s possible to remove this grave threat once and for all.”

-Steve Wilson

TAGS: What We're Reading