well, zeinab, that is not true.e into power in 2015 and immediately, a couple of months after, we had a crash in the crude oil price. there was a time that the crude oil price went to as low as $28 per barrel. and this was following an administration that had put up a revenue that was from up to $100 per barrel, averaging about $70 per barrel. so mr president faced his first recession within the first year of his first term. again, we now have a second recession in the second year of his term, this time around caused by the covid—19 pandemic. we have to now reassess our plans and try to contain the slide in the economy so that it doesn't go back. the first recession was about 12 months. we turned the economy around by reflating it, despite the low turnout. the investments that we have done in infrastructure and in social development supersedes... ..so is far greater than the investments that have been done by the last administration. so we must give mr president that credit. at a time when we've had little revenue,

hardtalk with zeinab badawi. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi.is going through its first recession in more than a quarter of a century because of the global downturn caused by the covid pandemic. the economic crisis is being keenly felt in nigeria, the continent's most populous country. its 200 million people are struggling with long—standing challenges which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and deteriorating security. exacerbated by the pandemic my guest is nigeria's finance minister, zainab ahmed. what is her plan to avert financial meltdown, as well as help deliver stability? finance minister zainab ahmed in the nigerian capital, abuja, welcome to hardtalk. so, we are hearing warnings of a third covid wave in africa, where only about 1% of the population has been vaccinated. what is the situation like in nigeria? well, thank you very much, zeinab, for having me. thankfully for us, covid—19 pandemic has been well contained. so far, what we've seen in terms of the numbers is that it is declining in nigeria. between the past three months, th

now on bbc news it's hardtalk with zeinab badawi. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi.has been a well—used mantra during the covid pandemic — no—one is safe anywhere in the world until everyone is safe everywhere. well, the reality is far from this, particularly in africa. the continent has received only a fraction of the vaccine doses it needs for its 1.2 billion population. it's gotjust over a0 million doses. and the international scheme africa is relying on to obtain covid—19 vaccines cannot secure enough supplies because of a global shortage. meanwhile, some richer nations have stockpiled enough doses to vaccinate their populations several times over. my guest is the director of the africa centres for disease control and prevention, drjohn nkengasong. does africa have a strategy to tackle covid—19? drjohn nkengasong, welcome to hardtalk. official figures show that five million cases exist in africa of covid—19, nearly 130,000 deaths. how worried are you? i'm very worried because we are not winning the battle against covid—19 in africa. if you look at our numbers as

with me, —— zeinab badawi. i am here in the zambian capital, lusaka. i'll speak to kenneth kaunda, leader of the struggle for independence. he was sentenced to hard labour in prison by the british before he went on to become zambia's first president of the post—colonial era. it is a landmark year for zambia — the 50th anniversary of its independence — and kenneth kaunda himself turns 90. what has 50 years of freedom brought the people of zambia and elsewhere on the continent? kenneth kaunda, welcome to hardtalk. for those of us who don't remember, just give us an idea of what it was really like to live under colonial rule in africa. hmm. it was a terrible experience. young lady. because we are living under apartheid. separate schools, separate hospitals, separate everything. in these schools, only a handful of whites and browns. those schools had very few children but the white children had very many schools, very many hospitals, while the black majority had little. how did it make you feel? and... did you feel humiliated? when you went to the shop to

now on bbc news it's hardtalk with zeinab badawi. welcome to hardtalk with me, zeinab badawi. world of fashion, with its often scantily—clad women in seductive poses, is not where you would expect to find a somali—born fashion editor who wears a hijab. well, rawdah mohamed has taken up a senior role at the soon—to—be—launched vogue scandinavia. after moving to norway as a child, she became a model, and in april created a social media storm with a post called hands off my hijab. how far can she use fashion to overturn negative stereotypes of muslim women? rawdah mohamed, welcome to hardtalk. so there you were at the age of eight, your family fled the conflict in somalia and moved to norway as refugees. that must have been a bit of a culture shock, no? yes. thank you for having me, by the way. yes, it was culture shock because i was only used to the refugee camp, my family and the people around. so when i came, it was... everything was different. not only the culture, but also the climate was very different. and i knew it was very far away from home. and so it was a bit of a tra

in 2014, zeinab badawi travelled to the zambian capital to speak with him hardtalk asked him what 50rs of freedom had brought the people of zambia. welcome to hardtalk in the capital. my guest today is kenneth kaunda. the leader of the struggle for independence here. he was imprisoned by the colonial authorities before he went on to become the first president of an independent zombie. this is a landmark year for the country and it celebrates its 50th anniversary independence from british colonial rule and he is turning 90. and what has independence brought the people of zambia and elsewhere on the continent. kenneth kaunda. welcome to hardtalk. forthose kenneth kaunda. welcome to hardtalk. for those of us who do not remember, just give us an idea of what it was really like to live under colonial rule in africa? it like to live under colonial rule in africa?— rule in africa? it was a terrible _ rule in africa? it was a terrible experience. i rule in africa? it was a - terrible experience. because, we are leaving apartheid, separate schools, separate hospitals, separate everything. and

but a key thing here, zeinab, is that you do not fix your health systems when you need them, you fix systems before you need them. so what you just described, it fits into what we have been saying for long, that, as a continent, we have to invest in revamping our health systems as a measure of protecting our economies and protecting our people. how often have we heard african leaders such as yourself say we need to fix our health systems? back in 2001, african leaders signed the abuja declaration to say we're going to spend 15% of our annual budget on health. to date, only a few countries have achieved that. you're absolutely right. we look at that and the african union is actually working hard on that issue. as you will recall, president kagame, the president of rwanda, has been named the african champion to mobilise domestic financing for health, because they consider it very critical, and a cornerstone for our development. so, yes, we've not met that threshold of funding of our health systems, but there is work in progress led by president paul kagame. i mean, do you actually know

now on bbc news, it's hardtalk with zeinab badawi.

now on bbc news it's hardtalk with zeinab badawi.