Outsize debt has been a familiar problem in the developing world, but the current crisis is considered the worst yet because of the amounts owed as well as the huge increase in the number and type of foreign creditors. And in Africa, a continent pulsating with potential and peril, debt overshadows nearly everything that happens. It leaves less money for investments that could create jobs for what is the youngest, fastest-growing population on the planet; less money to manage potential pandemics like Covid or mpox; less money to feed, house and educate people; less money to combat the devastating effects of climate change, which threaten to make swaths of land uninhabitable and force people to migrate. If nothing is done to help countries manage the financial crunch, “a wave of destabilizing debt defaults will end up severely undermining progress on the green transition, with catastrophic implications for the entire world,” warned a new report from the Finance for Development Lab at the Paris School for Economics and Columbia University’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue. (The New York Times)

Kenya on Tuesday unveiled the candidature of its former Prime Minister Raila Odinga for chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) at a colourful ceremony graced by several East African Community (EAC) heads of State…Mr Odinga will contest against Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, former Mauritius Foreign Minister Anil Kumarsingh Gayan and Richard James Randriamandrato, a former Madagascar Foreign Minister. Mr Odinga pledged to push for scrapping of visa for intra-Africa travel and removal of trade barriers as he spelled out his vision of a united continent characterised by peace and prosperity for all. (The EastAfrican)

U.N. agencies warn that refugees and displaced communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries infected with mpox are at particular risk of illness and death because of conditions under which they are forced to live…[Dr. Allen Maina, UNHCR public health chief] told journalists at a briefing in Geneva that refugees and displaced people are particularly vulnerable to mpox because people fleeing violence “are unable to implement many of the mpox prevention measures” that could keep them healthy and save their lives. “Displaced families living in crowded schools, shelters and tents, and also in churches, and also in farmers’ fields have no space to isolate when they develop symptoms of the disease. UNHCR staff have found some affected individuals trying diligently to follow preventive measures and protect their communities by sleeping outside,” he said. (VOA)

A former Eritrean finance minister who was arrested in 2018 after calling Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki a dictator has died in prison. The Eritrean government remained silent on the death of Berhane Abrehe, who was the country’s finance minister from 2001 to 2012. The reason for his death has not been announced, but the government allowed his burial in Asmara on Aug. 22…Berhane was neither charged nor allowed family visitations, despite being in frail health, according to his Maryland-based nephew Solomon Habtom, who initially facilitated the publication of Berhane’s controversial book critical of the Eritrean government…Berhane fell out with the Isaias administration in 2012 following a disagreement on its handling of the country’s finances. In 2018, he was arrested shortly after publishing two-volume book outside the country while living in Eritrea. (VOA)