app_store_button

google_play_button

DK - Details page - Device banner - 894x1036

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

BBC World Service

Two essential stories to round off your working day. Explaining the news from Africa. Hosted by Nkechi Ogbonna.

Focus on Africa

Imagine living with the lifelong physical and psychological scars of an attack fuelled by misogyny or romantic rejection. It’s the brutal reality for many women globally, yet the stigma of acid violence forces most survivors into silence. Focus on Africa podcast host Nkechi Ogbonna sits down with two survivors. They share their raw stories of living with the trauma, finding the strength to heal, and rebuilding their lives.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Carolyne Kiambo and Keikantse Shumba
Senior Producer: Priyanka Sippy and Bella Twine
Technical Producer: Jonathan Mwangi
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

Surviving an acid attack

A Moroccan influencer is serving a ten month jail sentence for violating public decency laws. Soukaina Janah was found guilty of inappropriate behaviour while marketing a dress on TikTok. She has also been banned from using her social media accounts for three years. 

Also, rising water levels in Kenya's Baringo lake is driving crocodiles into people's homes. 

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Ayuba Iliya, Helen Oyibo, Basma El Atti and Keikantse Shumba 

Senior Producer: Bella Twine

Technical Producer: Jonathan Mwangi

Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo, Charles Gitonga and Maryam Abdalla

Moroccan Influencer jailed over public indecency

Uganda's parliament has approved plans to deploy it's troops to Gaza under a U.S.-backed International Stabilization Force mission. This is an invitation from President Donald Trump's Board of Peace initiative which is meant to oversee post war transition. The International Stabilisation Force (ISF) would be made up of countries willing to send their troops to take over some of the security tasks that were managed by Hamas for so many years. 

And, for World Photography Day, we follow a Congolese photographer’s journey through the lens, as he captures the meaning of home.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Keikantse Shumba and Ayuba Iliya

Senior Producer: Bella Twine

Technical Producer: Jonathan Mwangi

Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo, Charles Gitonga and Maryam Abdalla

Uganda to send troops to Gaza

An international medical charity is warning that children in southwest Somalia face alarming food shortages. A survey by Doctors Without Borders found half the children screened were acutely malnourished and one quarter severely malnourished. 

According to a survey by Doctors Without Borders, that was conducted over 800 households in 14 displacement sites in Baidoa, it found that over 200 families are surviving on just one meal a day. 

And Cannabis remains one of Africa's most controversial policy issues. While supporters point to economic and medical benefits, critics warn it could result in higher rates of abuse. 

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna

Producers: Keikantse Shumba and Ayuba Iliya 

Senior Producer: Bella Twine

Technical Producer: Jonathan Mwangi

Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo, Charles Gitonga and Maryam Abdalla

Somalia: Humanitarian agency warns malnutrition

Security officers in Zambia have arrested 11 people including opposition candidate Brian Mundubile. The government claims that they could be planning a revolt. Incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema who is running for second, five-year term is taking an early lead in the count. The main opposition party has disputed the results.

And why are African vultures classified as endangered birds? 

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Keikantse Shumba and Helen Oyibo 
Senior Producer: Bella Twine
Technical Producer: Jonathan Mwangi
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo, Charlse Gitonga and Maryam Abdalla

Vote counting underway after Zambia election

A recent report by Cognitive Market Research says the global placenta powder market is expanding rapidly, driven by growing demand for placenta-based cosmetics and dietary supplements. But across Africa, deep-rooted cultural traditions mean the organ is usually buried, not consumed. So, why are some modern African mothers breaking with tradition? Focus on Africa host Nkechi Ogbonna spoke to maternal health advocate Ruth Sally Kodam and a placenta encapsulation specialist, Mary-Nissi Lemon, to understand the placenta and the different practices to either preserve or consume it. 

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Bella Twine, Fana Negash and Carolyne Jotham
Senior Producers: Charles Gitonga and Priya Sippy
Technical Producer: David Kinyanjui 
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

Are placenta practices changing in Africa?

South Africa says it is asking Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia to share the cost of deporting tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to their home countries. The country's Department of Home Affairs says it spent nearly $18 million in the exercise, far exceeding the budgetary allocation. About 82,000 people were repatriated to their home countries since anti-migrant protests started. 

And a UN report says one in three people can’t afford a healthy diet, despite a decline in global hunger in recent years. How are families across Africa coping with the affordability crisis?

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Basma El Atti, Keikantse Shumba and Ayuba Iliya
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Technical Producer: David Kinyanjui 
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

South Africa seeks reimbursement for migrant deportations

Deaths from the Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo have crossed the 2,000 mark. Officials have described the outbreak as the fastest spreading in the country’s history, blaming the rapid rates of infection on late detection and insecurity. The confirmation makes it the second most deadly outbreak, behind the 2018-2020 one which killed 2,300 people. Over 4,300 infections have been confirmed since the outbreak was declared in May. We hear from the World Health Organisation on containment measures. 

And as extreme weather patterns including flooding and heatwaves become more frequent, we look at some of the skills you need to survive. 

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Bella Twine, Victor Chege, Keikantse Shumba and Ayuba Iliya
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Technical Producer: David Kinyanjui 
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

Conflict, health gaps fuel DRC's Ebola surge

Zambia's 8 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots on August 13, when the country will hold presidential and parliamentary elections. Fourteen candidates are gunning for the presidency but many see it as a two-horse race between incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema and opposition leader Brian Mundubile. The vote comes amid concerns of high cost of living and unemployment. We look at how candidates used music on the campaign trail to sway voters. 

And we explain the often-strained relationship between rap music and politics as Moroccan rapper El Mehdi Lyoubi better known to his fans as Mehdi Black Wind is on trial for controversial lyrics. 

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Basma El Atti, Keikantse Shumba and Ayuba Iliya
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Technical Producer: David Kinyanjui
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

Beats, ballots and Zambia's election music

BBC Africa Eye has seen evidence suggesting a South African police detective, Lieutenant Colonel Frans Mathipa, was shot dead by the country’s special forces while investigating the disappearance of a suspected Islamic State group militant. A former South African counter-terrorism police chief has told the BBC that the suspected IS militant, known as Abdella Abadigga, was being protected and used as an intelligence asset before he went missing. Seven special forces soldiers and one other are due to stand trial in connection with the detective’s murder. Of those, seven are accused, alongside four others, of abducting and murdering Abadigga. They deny the allegations. 

And how one of Kenya's tallest men, Bradley Marongo went from being a commercial bus conductor to actor and content creator.

Presenter: Nkechi Ogbonna
Producers: Priya Sippy, Keikantse Shumba and Ayuba Iliya
Senior Producer: Charles Gitonga
Technical Producer: David Kinyanjui 
Editors: Rhoda Odhiambo and Maryam Abdalla

BBC investigates murder of top South African detective

A coalition of civil society organizations, labor unions, media outlets and religious leaders in Ghana have intensified pressure on the government to act decisively against illegal mining, known as galamsey. What impact does galamsey have on the country? 

Also, an appeal from Amnesty International to release four activists detained in Angola. There's concern over their detriorating health. We'll hear from the wife of one of those detained. 

And a challenge to the organisers of Fashion Week in Nigeria..to add plus size models to the catwalk!

Presenter: Audrey Brown
Producers: Rob Wilson in London. Frenny Jowi in Nairobi and Todah Opeyemi in Lagos.
Technical Producer: Jonathan Greer
Senior Journalist: Karnie Sharp
Editors: Andre Lombard and Alice Muthengi

Why is galamsey such a big deal in Ghana?

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

Other podcasts you might like ...