Ethio Negari published on 28 July 2026 an article titled "China-Africa Robotic Surgery Training Centre Opens in Addis Ababa."
The China-Africa Robotic Surgery Center that opened in Addis Ababa uses AI-driven healthcare techniques. The first round of training involved 40 healthcare professionals from Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, and Libya.
Pan African Television posted on 8 July 2026 an article titled "Namibia's President Visits China for Talks on Minerals, Green Hydrogen, and Manufacturing" by Victoria Wilson.
Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is on a state visit to China. Her priority is attracting investment in minerals processing and downstream manufacturing. Namibia aims to process 57 percent of its exported minerals locally by 2030.
Amnesty International published on 1 July 2026 a report titled "City Under Seige, Children Under Fire: Rapid Support Forces' Crimes Against Humanity in North Darfur."
This is a 202-page report on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) atrocities in North Darfur based on 247 interviews, including 208 with survivors of the RSF seizure of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur.
The New York Times published on 1 July 2026 a commentary titled "U.S.A.I.D. Cuts Killed People. That's the Truth" by Nicholas Kristof.
Elon Musk, who at the beginning of the Trump administration ran DOGE, the organization that dismantled the US Agency for International Development, insists "there is not even a single dead child" as a result of the actions by DOGE.
Nicholas Kristof, who has met with family members in Africa of dead children, begs to differ. In addition, studies by university researchers and by Lancet, a British medical journal, estimate that deaths due to USAID financial cuts are in the hundreds of thousands.
The American Security Project published on 24 June 2026 a commentary titled "From Aid Cuts to Ebola: A Predictable Crisis Unfolds" by Mohamed Siddiqui.
The dismantlement of USAID, removal of its on the ground personnel in the DRC and Uganda, and cutting of foreign aid funding for health programs has left international humanitarian groups to provide the bulk of the support for affected communities. The result has been predictable: a faster spread of Ebola and greater cost to bring it under control.
Propublica published on 22 June 2026 an article titled "'A Huge Grab of Power': Trump Is Defying Congress on Foreign Aid" by Anna Maria Barry-Jester.
Bipartisan support for foreign aid remains in the US Congress despite the Trump administration's dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development and its effort to minimize US foreign assistance now administered by the State Department, which does not have the capacity to manage it in any event.
Just Security published on 2 June 2026 a commentary titled "In Addition to Chinese Pressure, a Backsliding Democracy May Explain Zambia's Decision to Cancel a Major Human Rights Summit" by Jane Munga and Steve Feldstein.
Days before 2,600 human rights defenders, technologists, and policymakers were expected in Lusaka, Zambia, on April 30, the Zambian government called off RightsCon, the world's largest conference on digital rights.
According to the summit organizers, the cancellation was due to foreign interference from China "because Taiwanese civil society participants were planning to join us in person." But a closer look reveals a more complicated picture linked to Zambia's democratic decline and more repressive policies.
Horn Diplomat published on 12 June 2026 an article titled "Somaliland Opens New Representative Office in Taiwan as Ties Deepen" by Mohamed Duale.
On June 12, breakaway Somaliland opened the new premises of its Representative Office in Taiwan as officials from both sides pledged to expand cooperation across security, trade, healthcare, and development sectors.
The new office reflected the steady expansion of relations between Somaliland and Taiwan since the two sides established reciprocal representative offices in 2020.
The Japan Times published on 7 May 2026 an article titled "Into Africa: China Continues Its Dominance on the Continent" by Brad Glosserman.
The author writes that "as the United States creates barriers to trade and treats Africa with contempt and disdain, China scores points with a key diplomatic bloc and source of vital raw materials." He argues that both Japan and the European Union need to do more to balance Beijing's determined effort in Africa.
UN News published on 10 April 2026 an update titled "Sudan: 14 Million Displaced; Hunger and Attacks on Health Continue as War Enters Fourth Year."
Some 14 million people, or a quarter of the population, have been forced to flee, with 9 million remaining displaced inside Sudan and 4.4 million as refugees mostly in Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt. In addition, 21 million Sudanese now face acute food insecurity, including 6.3 million in the direst state of food emergency. Over 40 percent of Sudan's population require urgent health assistance and disease outbreaks are widespread.
Most of the UN agencies have their main logistics hub in the United Arab Emirates. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is impacting their ability to respond as humanitarian supply routes have been cut and shipping aid has become slower and more costly.
The Environmental Investigation Agency and PremiCongo published in March 2026 a report titled "Toxic Transition: How the World's Largest Cobalt Producer Has Allegedly Poisoned Communities for Years."
A Chinese company, CMOC Group Ltd., controls two of the world's largest copper-cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thousands of people live within a few kilometers of the operations and its massive processing plant. Local communities and civil society groups have sounded the alarm about severe health issues. Since 2023, doctors and nurses near the mines have treated a growing list of patients.
The South China Morning Post published on 5 March 2026 an article titled "Africa Emerges as New Arena in US-China Competition over Artificial Intelligence" by Lucy Quaggin.
Africa is increasingly seen as a critical region for artificial intelligence development because of its population and economic growth. By 2050, one quarter of the world's population will be in Africa. American and Chinese companies are competing for the African market and support to set standards.
Devex Newswire posted on 4 March 2026 an article titled "US Aid Cuts Gut South Africa's HIV Fight" by Helen Murphy.
South Africa bears the world's largest HIV/AIDS burden. US foreign aid cuts and the dismantlement of USAID have ripped through its response to the disease, forcing clinics to close and leaving thousands of vulnerable patients scrambling for care. A State Department spokesperson responded that it is time for governments to take responsibility for the lives of people in their countries.
Channel News Asia published on 24 February 2026 an article titled "China Expands Economic Footprint in Turbulent South Sudan" by Patrick Oyet.
The article highlights China's continuing engagement in various sectors in South Sudan even as the country edges toward another civil war.
Comment: The article did not mention that the China National Petroleum Corporation informed Sudan and South Sudan in December 2025 that it is dissolving its long-standing partnership with Sudan's oil sector. See the Sudan Tribune's article dated 10 December 2025 titled "China's Exit from Sudan Oil Fields Deepens Crisis for War-ravaged Economy."
The New York Times published on 8 February 2026 a commentary titled "What We Lost When We Lost USAID" by Jeremy Konyndyk, Refugees International.
Aside from the tangible damage done to dismantled programs that aided the world's needy, American foreign assistance policy is a reflection of who our country wants to be and of the kind of world we seek to build. The demise of the US Agency for International Development is resulting in an America that increasingly stands isolated and friendless.
CNN published on 4 February 2026 an article titled "One Year on from Dismantlement of USAID, Study Projects that Global Aid Cuts Could Lead to 9.4 Million Deaths by 2030" by Lauren Kent.
The Trump administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID) early last year. A new study by the Lancet medical journal projects that the human toll of these aid cuts could lead to at least 9.4 million additional deaths by 2030.
The Center for Global Development reports that the dismantlement of USAID may have led to between 500,000 to 1,000,000 lives lost in 2025 compared to previous years.
Semafor published on 2 February 2026 an article titled "Exclusive/Trump Advisers Refine Their Africa Strategy" by Shelby Talcott and Yinka Adegoke.
The new person in charge of the Africa Bureau at the State Department, Nick Checker, said the United States is not going to compete dollar for dollar with China in Africa on projects like building roads. The US is focused on "commercial diplomacy" in priority sectors such as access to critical minerals where it will compete head-to-head with China. Health care seems to be another priority area.
AllAfrica.com posted on 12 January 2026 an analysis titled "Africa: Former CIA Analyst Now Top U.S. Africa Official at State; Dealmaking Dominates as Conflicts Spread" by Reed Kramer.
The top official in the State Department Africa Bureau, Nick Checker, comes from the Central Intelligence Agency via the Trump administration's National Security Council. Massad Boulos, the U.S. Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs, is the father of Tiffany Trump's husband and former truck and heavy machinery dealer in Nigeria.
The Trump administration recalled 15 career ambassadors from embassies in Africa in late December. Now only 17 of 52 embassies in Africa, which includes 4 in North Africa that are part of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, have ambassadors assigned to the country; 35 ambassadorial positions in Africa are vacant. The Trump administration has put forward only 4 nominations for ambassador to embassies in Africa--Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia, and South Africa. All 4 nominees are political appointees.
The Hill published on 8 January 2026 a commentary titled "What Americans Lost in the Dismantling of USAID" by J. Brian Atwood and Andrew S. Natsios.
The dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is resulting in numerous deaths globally, many of them due to setbacks in food security and health care. The authors, former directors of USAID, urge Congress to create a new cabinet level U.S. Department for International Aid by transferring foreign assistance programs from a dozen departments and agencies.
China Africa News published on 1 January 2026 an article titled "What's at Stake in 2026 for AU-China Cooperation?" by Cremilda Macuacua.
People-to-people exchanges, and training programs will highlight China-Africa relations in 2026. There will be a focus on health care, food security, rural development, and expanded trade.
