🔅 The Invisible Children of Kenya's British Soldiers

GDP in Africa: The Great Data Pretender & Why We're Making Mosquitoes Deaf

Photo by Joshua Oluwagbemiga

Good Morning from Nigeria!

---

GDP in Africa: The Great Data Pretender

When you pull a glossy spreadsheet from the World Bank or IMF, you probably think, This must be airtight—some bespectacled genius has done the hard math. Spoiler: they might not have. In Poor Numbers, Morten Jerven dismantles our blind trust in GDP figures from African countries, revealing them as more improv than scientific report.

Tanzania’s 1980s Economic Vanishing Act

Cue Tanzania, where the 1980s GDP stats claimed the economy did a backflip into a canyon. From 1985 to 1986, GDP per capita supposedly plummeted 33%, beating even the Great Depression’s misery Olympics. Economists scratched their heads like, Did everyone just stop working? Nope. Turns out, ujamaa socialism collapsed, folks shifted to subsistence farming, and most of this economic activity became invisible to the GDP-watching statisticians. When Tanzania finally updated its numbers in the ’90s, GDP estimates surged by up to 200%—kind of like discovering your missing wallet in the couch cushions.

But rather than fixing their spreadsheets, the powers that be stitched the old and new data together. Enter a "catastrophe" that never happened, followed by a "miraculous" recovery—dubbed by some as the IMF’s greatest PR win.

Statisticians: The Unsung (and Overworked) Heroes

Imagine a statistical agency run by one guy with a calculator, a stack of dusty files, and dreams of a functioning government. That’s Zambia in Jerven’s book. This lone wolf had no team, no budget, and no backup plan. He also had a poignant question: “What happens if I disappear?”

As such, across much of Africa, GDP numbers are less “counting beans” and more “guesstimating beans.” National agencies, starved of resources, extrapolate GDP by combining dubious population estimates with FAO crop models and rainfall data. Nigeria, for instance, hasn’t had a proper census since 2006—so its population stats? Total guesswork. And in Uganda, they didn’t even bother tracking trade data from all their borders until 2008.

The GDP Confidence Game

Africa’s shadow economies—the informal sector, subsistence farming, and trade under the radar—are like dark matter: they exist, but good luck measuring them. Most GDP numbers rely on shaky assumptions and outdated baselines.

So what do we do with all this?

First, it may be to admit GDP is more a vibe check than a precise instrument, especially for some nations. Second, while the statisticians grinding away in underfunded agencies deserve medals, their tools need an upgrade. Without better data, targeting aid and development becomes a shot in the dark—or, worse, a shot in the wrong direction.

Jensen’s thesis is a fascinating read, and we encourage you to check it out.

---

Scientists Discover the Ultimate Mosquito Repellent: Making Males Go Deaf

Photo by Mithil Girish

There’s a new study out that's sure to have mosquitoes buzzing with confusion. Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, have found an unusual way to combat mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika. Their solution? To turn male mosquitoes deaf, so they can't hear the alluring wingbeats of their female counterparts.

You see, mosquitoes have a unique way of getting frisky: They mate mid-air, with the males relying on their keen hearing to chase down the ladies. But what happens when you disrupt their hearing? Apparently, you get a bunch of clueless male mosquitoes flying around aimlessly, wondering where all the single ladies have gone.

The researchers targeted a protein called trpVa, which seems to be the key to mosquito hearing. By knocking out this gene, they created a group of mutant males that were completely oblivious to the seductive sounds of potential mates. Even after three days in the same cage, these deaf Romeos failed to make any physical contact with the females. Talk about a communication breakdown!

Now, you might be wondering why scientists are so focused on preventing mosquito hookups. Well, it turns out that female mosquitoes are the ones responsible for spreading diseases to humans. By reducing the number of baby mosquitoes, we could potentially put a dent in the 400 million people infected by mosquito-borne viruses each year.

But before you start celebrating the end of mosquito-kind, it's important to remember that these little buggers play a crucial role in the ecosystem. They're a tasty snack for fish, birds, bats, and frogs, and some even double as pollinators. So, while the idea of a mosquito-free world might sound appealing, we also need to be careful about how we manage these populations.

---

The Invisible Children of Kenya's British Soldiers

The British base is located at the foot of Mt Kenya. Photo by ALCOCK MULLER

Have you heard about the plight of the biracial children born to Kenyan women and British soldiers on training exercises? No?

Well, for years, British troops have been coming to Kenya for 8-week training stints as part of a $44 million defense cooperation agreement. And while they're busy honing their military skills, some of these lads have been getting a bit too "friendly" with the local ladies.

The result? A generation of biracial children who have grown up without knowing their fathers and struggling to find their place in Kenyan society.

Take Margaret Wandia, for example: She had a brief fling with a British soldier in her early 20s while working at a bar. Nine months later, surprise! She's a single mom to a bouncing biracial baby boy. Raising little Louise Gitonga wasn't easy – school fees were hiked because he looked "too white" and Margaret had to scrape by on a casual laborer's salary.

Fast forward 26 years and Louise is an unemployed adult battling substance abuse issues and an identity crisis.

And there’s David Mwangi Macharia, whose father was - you guessed it - a British soldier. David has been nicknamed "British" his whole life but the UK won't even give him citizenship.

Now, a Kenyan lawyer named Kelvin Kubai is on a mission to take these now-adult children to Britain to confront authorities and track down their long-lost dads. He's representing 10 such cases, with 7 kids under 18 who could gain British citizenship. For the older ones, it's a quest for identity and maybe a chance at a fresh start.

However, not all of these interracial encounters were consensual. Allegations of rape by British soldiers have been a longstanding issue in the region. The Brits' solution? Well, none really.

So while the UK and Kenya happily renew their lucrative defense agreements, the children born of this arrangement remain in limbo - prisoners of an identity they never chose.

---

Food for Thought

“The one who does not dig does not eat.”

— Uganda Proverb