When the novel coronavirus hit South Africa harder than any other African nation earlier this year, the government’s handling of the pandemic became a rare good news story for President Cyril Ramaphosa. But then the bad news story of the past decade caught up with him and the governing African National Congress (ANC), triggering new debate about whether the party is capable of reforming itself and ending corruption.
Yearly Archives: 2020
Signs of Hope for Ending Poverty, Even in a Pandemic
The novel coronavirus threatens to reverse the gains made in the global struggle to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 – but Sierra Leone offers hope that progress can be made in improving people’s lives even in a pandemic. A new study published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford University’s Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) shows that of 75 countries surveyed, Sierra Leone made the most progress in reducing poverty over a period in which it was also battling Ebola.