Instead of relying on imported wheat, they’re starting to experiment with recipes using locally grown crops.

The conflict has seen tens of thousands killed and left its people largely cut off from aid and food supplies.

That's all from the BBC Africa Live team for now. There'll be an automated service until we're back on Thursday morning.

In the meantime you can get updates from the BBC News website and listen to our Africa Today podcast.

Here's our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we leave you with this photo of a Red Cross worker in Uganda during an outbreak of Ebola in the country:

Image source, Getty Images

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, Getty Images

The Nigerian authorities say they are intensifying surveillance to prevent the importation into the country of cough syrups linked to the deaths of 69 children in The Gambia.

Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (Nafdac) says the medicines manufactured by an Indian company, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, have not been found in Nigeria.

A spokesperson for the agency, Sayo Akintola told the BBC that the agency’s "surveillance up to date has not found the controversial drugs in the Nigerian market".

The regulatory agency also added that the four paediatric medicines have not been registered in Nigeria, therefore they should not be in the country.

Nevertheless, the authorities have put "appropriate measures in place to prevent entry of these spurious products from the various ports of entry and have activated our internal surveillance mechanisms to mop up these products from the supply chain pipeline if they are ever found," the agency said.

Nafdac has also warned Nigerians to avoid the said syrups and report any "suspicion of adverse drug reaction and substandard and falsified medicines".

It says the effects of the toxic substances allegedly contained in the cough syrups include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.

The products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

Maiden Pharmaceuticals had failed to provide guarantees about their products' safety, the WHO said.

In a comment to the ANI news agency , externalMaiden said it was shocked and saddened over the incident.

The company said it followed Indian health protocols and was co-operating with an investigation.

The Gambia has already started withdrawing the medicines from circulation.

The WHO had expressed fears that the Gambia might not be the only country where the cough syrups had been sold.

You can read more about the cough syrup scandal here:

• Cough-syrup scandal: How did it end up in The Gambia?
• Gambia cough syrup scandal: Mothers demand justice

Religious freedom is protected under the Nigeria's constitution but religious bodies have increasingly been under attack.

BBC World Service

Image source, AFP

The military leader of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, has named a veteran opposition politician, Saleh Kebzabo, as the new prime minister as he seeks to stave off protests against continued army rule.

The appointment comes several days after a national forum confirmed General Deby as transitional president for the next two years, and delayed promised elections.

Mr Kebzabo, 75, was a presidential candidate several times, standing against Gen Deby's father, Idriss Deby.

The general assumed power in April last year after his father was killed in battle against rebel forces.

Last month, the African Union appealed in vain for the military not to extend its rule beyond an agreed 18-month interim period.

Richard Kagoe
BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Twenty al-Shabab militants in the Yasooman area of Somalia's central Hiran region have been killed, the Information Ministry says.

The Somali National Army killed the militants and injured dozens during a foiled attempt to storm a military base early on Wednesday.

The army says three soldiers died during the fighting.

The state news agency is also reporting that four other militants were killed in a separate incident in the Bal’ad district of the middle Shabelle region on Tuesday night.

This comes in the wake of intensified operations in the northern and eastern parts of Hiraan region.

Somalia's military, backed by pro-government forces, US troops and the African Union peacekeeping mission have made significant gains in recent weeks in their campaign against al-Shabab.

Somali troops have recaptured several villages that the militant group had held for years.

Somalia’s president vowed to wage war against the al-Qaeda-linked militant group when he assumed office in August this year.

Kalkidan Yibeltal
BBC News, Addis Ababa

Image source, AFP

Six Western countries including the US and the UK have said they are "profoundly concerned" by the escalation of violence in northern Ethiopia and the resulting deterioration of a dire humanitarian crisis there amid a civil war.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, Australia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands joined Washington and London in calling both warring parties - the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces - to immediately stop the fighting and agree a cessation of hostilities.

Violence shattered a five-month truce in August and despite both parties accepting an African Union (AU) invitation for peace talks, fighting has continued to rage with neighbouring Eritrea involved in support of the Ethiopian army - something condemned by the six countries.

“All foreign actors must cease actions that fuel this conflict,” the joint statement said, which also denounced attacks against civilians.

Proposed preliminary talks, scheduled to take place last weekend in South Africa, were delayed due to what were described as logistical reasons.

It’s not clear when they will happen.

The six countries further urged the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces to “pursue [a] negotiated settlement” under an AU-led process, adding that warring sides must recognise “there’s no military solution to the conflict”.

Neither the government nor Tigrayan forces have yet responded to the statement.

Read more:

• Why the war in Ethiopia has reignited once more
• Eritreans hunted down as military call-up intensifies

Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton urges his side to seize their chance at the T20 World Cup as the Chevrons appear at their first global tournament in six years.

Image source, TWITTER/EUNICE ATUEJIDE

West African female politicians have told the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast that the system was rigged against them and that they faced bullying and attacks. This is the reason why more women do not join politics in the region, they say.

"It's the system," said Eunice Atuejide who stood as a presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2019 elections. It has "quite a lot of people who are very patriarchal" in leadership positions.

Ms Atuejide said women who run for political office face fear of attacks and warned it can get "really dirty".

She said opponents go so far as to make fake videos, including fake sex videos, to smear the women candidates' name.

Liberia's Karishma Pelham-Raad, who is one of the youngest women candidates hoping to be elected to Liberia’s House of Representatives, echoed similar sentiments.

Social media can “bring you down completely", she said. Despite the fact Liberia had a female president in the form of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Ms Pelham-Raad believes not much was done under her administration to advance the rights of women in politics: "She did not empower a lot of women," Ms Pelham-Raad said.

The situation is not much better in Ghana, where Dr Zanator Rawlings, who is an MP, said there was no affirmative action bill to get more women into political power. Out of Ghana's 275 MPs just 40 are women, she said.

"Women just don’t get enough funding or support," she said. "The system is rigged against the women" she added, lamenting that when women are in politics, they are mostly given "token" positions and "deputising" roles.

Senegal is the country doing better than other countries in West Africa - following elections in July, women make up 44% of MPs, compared to 4% of in Nigeria and 26% in Niger.

You can listen to the full episode of Africa Daily here.

Azeezat Olaoluwa
BBC News, Lagos

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has warned Nigerians to brace for more flooding.

This comes as Nigerian authorities announced the number of people killed by floods in the country has risen to more than 500, as we reported earlier.

The head of NiMet, Professor Mansur Bako Matazu, said flooding from rainfall may have reached its peak, but the opening of dams and other water-holding facilities would continue to affect many states in northern and south-eastern areas.

He explained that water-associated risks will intensify in the coming years due to climate change.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also warned that floods in some Nigerian states could worsen food insecurity.

Thomas Naadi
BBC News, Accra

Image source, Getty Images

The authorities in Ghana say they have repatriated 21 human trafficking victims, including children, to Nigeria after being rescued from an alleged gang in the capital, Accra.

Authorities say the victims - aged between 15 and 20 - were sent home on Tuesday with the help of Nigerian authorities.

Ghana’s Economic and Organised Crime Office says they were released after a raid on a house last month, where they were undergoing training in cybercrime.

Seven suspected members of the gang are facing charges relating to engaging in organised crime, human trafficking, and assault.

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News, Nairobi

Image source, AFP

A two-year-old Kenyan child who had a forked hoe lodged in his skull has died while undergoing surgery at the country's main hospital.

The boy's death comes amid accusations from his relatives and a public outcry that it had taken medics at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) more than 20 hours to admit the boy and give him emergency care.

But in a statement on Tuesday, the hospital explained the delay saying the patient had lost a lot of blood and therefore needed to be stabilised before being taken into surgery.

The child’s mother later told local media that the boy had died during the operation.

The boy was reportedly hit with the gardening tool while out playing with friends in Kilimambogo, some 63km (39 miles) from the capital Nairobi. He was taken to a nearby hospital but was referred to KNH.

The case has put KNH and other public health centres in the spotlight.

They are often accused of offering substandard services to Kenyans amid shortages of medicines and basic equipment for doctors due to insufficient funding from the government.

Ishaq Khalid
BBC News, Abuja

Image source, AFP

The authorities in Nigeria say the number of people killed by floods ravaging the country in recent weeks has risen to more than 500.

More than 1,500 others have been wounded while 1.4 million are displaced.

Since the end of July, the West African country has been grappling with a wave of flooding affecting 31 of its 36 states including the capital Abuja.

The floods are caused by heavy rains and release of excess waters from dams within Nigeria and a major dam in neighbouring Cameroon by the authorities.

Experts also partly blame the flooding on the impact of climate change.

The country is hit by floods every year. But this year’s disaster is the worst in more than a decade.

Giving an update on the situation at a press conference on Tuesday, the permanent secretary of the ministry of humanitarian affairs, Nasir Sani Gwarzo, said tens of thousands of houses and large swathes of farmland have been destroyed.

The Nigerian authorities are warning that states in the central and southern parts of the country are likely to experience more floods in the coming weeks.

The level of destruction and displacement by the floods has raised fears of food shortages in Africa’s most populous country.

Zambia's new High Commissioner to Australia and New Zealand presented his letters of credence while adorned in a ceremonial Siziba costume of a skirt, a white shirt, long stockings and a beret.

The Siziba is a traditional ceremonial attire for men from Lozi people in western Zambia.

Ambassador Elias Munshya presented his papers earlier this week at the official residence of Australia's Governor General David Hurley.

His gesture of wearing the traditional attire at the event has won him praise on social media.

Nicola Mandil
BBC News, Juba

Over 900,000 people have been affected by floods in 29 counties across South Sudan and in the southern part of the Abyei administrative area, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says.

It says the worst affected states are Northern Bahr El-Ghazal, Warrap, Unity and Western Equatoria.

Increasing water levels reported in Rubkona and Bentiu towns in Unity State were putting pressure on existing dykes, the UN agency said.

It added that the collapse of a key bridge in Western Bahr El-Ghazal State continues to hamper humanitarian response to some 50,000 people living in the area.

Funding shortfalls and insecurity have hampered humanitarian work, Ocha added.

Image source, Nicola Mandil

BBC World Service

The authorities in India have ordered a pharmaceutical company to stop producing cough syrups after reports that they may be linked to the deaths of dozens of children in The Gambia.

The health minister in Haryana state, Anil Vij, said inspections at a factory of Maiden Pharmaceuticals found several violations of good practices.

The World Health Organization last week said the medicines produced by the company had unacceptable amounts of chemical substances that can cause kidney damage.

Officials in The Gambia say they are investigating the deaths of 66 children which are linked to four brands of cough syrups imported from India.

Maiden Pharmaceuticals last week said it was shocked and saddened by the incident and they were co-operating with an investigation

Emmanuel Igunza
BBC News Reporter

Image source, AFP

Cases of cholera in Malawi have more than tripled in the last two months as authorities struggle to contain an outbreak that has killed more than 117 people so far.

The UN says that cases across the country have jumped from 1,000 to more than 4,200 since August.

The first case of cholera, which spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, was reported in March in southern Malawi.

But the disease has now spread to 22 of Malawi’s 28 districts. Experts have warned that the situation could be worsened by the onset of the rainy season in November.

The government has been conducting a mass cholera vaccination in the southern Africa nation, which is one of the poorest in the world.

Data from the World Health Organization show that this is the worst outbreak so far this year globally.

The country's cholera response plan currently has a funding gap of more than $13m (£11.8m).

Malawi is currently facing one of its worst economic periods and has witnessed street protests sparked by shortages in fuel, electricity and forex, as well as drugs and medical supplies.

Elderly mothers and fathers have been detained after their children went into hiding, sources say.

Jose Tembe
BBC News, Maputo

Image source, AFP

A lion on the loose is causing fear among residents of an area in Massingir district of southern Mozambique.

The animal, which has been moving around since last week in Massingir and neighbouring Mabalane district, is thought to have escaped from the Limpopo National Park.

The lion is said to have already killed some cattle and residents say they are living in fear.

A joint team of rangers from the Limpopo park and police have been deployed to hunt for the feline.

Benito Thomisssene, the head of the administrative post in Zulo area, has appealed to locals to move in groups as a security measure to avoid possible attack by the lion.