Chatham House Africa Programme

27/08/2026

🇳🇬 | The Nigerian Army only has approximately 100,000 active personnel according to recent estimates. Its vast and growing population requires a larger military.

Matthew Page argues accompanying reforms are needed in his latest Chatham House analysis: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/08/nigeria-will-need-more-bigger-army-tackle-security-challenges?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=afr

26/08/2026

🎙️ | HE Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu governs one of the world’s fastest growing cities, Lagos – distinguished in a growing class of megacities in Africa.

He discusses how the city is developing solutions to cater to the needs of its growing population on : https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/08/africa-aware-what-can-lagos-teach-us-about-africas-emerging-megacities?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=afr

25/08/2026

🇳🇬 | Without accompanying reforms, the risk is that President Tinubu’s plan only makes Nigeria’s army bigger but not better, writes Matthew Page in his latest Chatham House expert comment:

21/08/2026

🎙️| By 2050, many of the world’s fastest-growing cities will be in .

HE Babajide Sanwo-Olu joins Chatham House’s Tighisti Amare to discuss how Lagos is developing solutions to manage rapid population growth and deliver infrastructure at scale: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/08/africa-aware-what-can-lagos-teach-us-about-africas-emerging-megacities?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=afr

18/08/2026

🌍 | “China increasingly sees Africa as one of the few remaining large-scale spaces where industrial expansion, urbanisation, infrastructure deployment and consumer growth can still unfold simultaneously over decades,” Prof Carlos Lopes tells South China Morning Post:

Countries including Zimbabwe and Guinea are ending the pit-to-ship model that saw them exporting raw minerals with limited local gains.

14/08/2026

🇿🇲 | The state of democracy and human rights concerns many voters in .

Chatham House’s Christopher Vandome discusses what’s at stake in the elections on Al Jazeera English’s Inside Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2DCVP53vYY

13/08/2026

🇿🇲 | “Even Hichilema supporters want to see due respect given to those that have died...When it appears things get messy, it just makes the incumbent look disrespectful,” Chatham House’s Christopher Vandome on the enduring feud between Hichilema and the family of former president Edgar Lungu via The Guardian:

Hakainde Hichilema is bidding for second term, but feud between him and family of Edgar Lungu, who died in 2025, continues

11/08/2026

⚕️ | “Resilience is not only about infrastructure and technology, it is also about trust. Trust is not only a social consideration, it can also have direct consequences for epidemic control,” Bienvenu Mukungilwa notes on the latest episode: https://chathamhouse.org/2026/08/africa-aware-drcs-ebola-outbreak-local-systems-international-responses-and-lessons-africa?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=afr

10/08/2026

🇿🇲 | In opposition, President Hakainde Hichilema made international friends as a champion of democracy. In power, he must resist tipping the scales in favour of his party.

Christopher Vandome writes on ’s upcoming 13 August election for Chatham House:

In opposition Hichilema made international friends as a champion of democracy. In power he must resist tipping the scales in favour of his party.

07/08/2026

⚕️ | The international response during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in the DRC was organized through health structures parallel to the existing Congolese health system – contributing to undermined trust, outbreaks of violence and ultimately prolonging the outbreak.

Dr Rachel Niehuus discusses the broader context of public health in the DRC and why that matters to make sense of the current Ebola outbreak on : https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/08/africa-aware-drcs-ebola-outbreak-local-systems-international-responses-and-lessons-africa?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=afr