As contributed in Liz Ntonjira’s book, #YOUTHCAN https://youthcan.africa/ on August 29, 2020 @DrMehari Dear African Youth, When I saw the overwhelming youth participation during the worldwide and inclusive protests against the outrageous killing of George Floyd, I was moved to write this letter to share some of my views on the lessons that these events ...

Original article at: https://blogs.eui.eu/migrationpolicycentre/african-and-european-migration-diplomacy-a-checklist-and-suggested-future-direction/ @DrMehari While EU member states and citizens debate the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, it is clear that migration has been, is and will continue to be an integral part of the relations between African and European countries. A ‘strong external dimension’ takes a pride of place in the ...

Original analysis at https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2020/05/18/the-limits-of-legal-solutions/ An inclusive caretaker government is a better option than a suspect constitutional interpretation process controlled by the incumbent Given that the World Health Organization says the coronavirus is here to stay and we must learn to live with it, partly as vaccines and treatments may take years, how can the need to safeguard our physical, ...

In-depth analysis posted in Addis Standard: https://addisstandard.com/in-depth-analysis-waiting-for-godot-pandemic-and-elections-in-ethiopia/ Addis Abeba, May 07/2020 – The Prime Minister of Ethiopia has just announced that the ruling party will stay in power until the next election.  Both the end of the Covid-19 and the polls are like waiting for Godot, and no one knows the arrival. In the absence of a constitutive ...

Originally published on TRT World: https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/the-way-to-a-pragmatic-containment-strategy-for-covid-19-in-africa-35896/amp The lives versus livelihoods dilemma is stark on the African continent and requires a localised approach. The Covid-19 virus has now hit almost every country in Africa, and altogether there are more than 36,847confirmed cases with 1589 deaths. The predicted level of infection from current models is almost too ghastly to contemplate, ...

Originally published on Addis Standard, April 9, 2020: https://addisstandard.com/in-depth-analysis-what-should-be-africas-strategy-to-counter-covid19-a-strategy-for-containment/ Super sense of urgency: clarity, clarity and clarity of strategy Addis Abeba, April 09/2020 – The current Covid-19 pandemic, like most of its kind, poses two closely interlinked challenges. They can be summarized as the demands for urgent actions needed to contain the outbreak; and the requirement ...

Originally published on Addis Standard, March 11, 2020: https://addisstandard.com/commentary-the-trump-trap/ Addis Abeba, March 11/2020 – After four months of intense mediation efforts between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the question of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the US government and the World Bank have failed to get Ethiopia’s signature on a proposed agreement they put forward.  ...

Originally published on All Africa, March 24, 2020: https://allafrica.com/stories/202003240907.html Addis Ababa — Africa remains by far the most vulnerable continent in terms of viral and bacterial infections. Covid-19 is likely to prove the worst of these. Numbers shift constantly, but by 24 March 2020, more than 1,788 Covid-19 cases and 58 deaths had been reported in 43 African ...

Originally published on Mail & Guardian, 24th March 2020: https://mg.co.za/article/2020-03-24-covid-19-why-it-is-so-difficult-for-africa-to-flatten-the-curve/ Covid-19 has now hit more than 40 African countries, with almost 2000 confirmed cases as of March 23. So far, the coronavirus has been slow to spread across Africa, but there are several factors unique to the continent that could make it difficult to reduce the rate of ...