Senegal
BBC mentions a real election in the small West African nation of Senegal. The long-time leader Abdoulaye Wade intended to have his son take over in true dynastic form. But after some public dissatisfaction (not serious riots) he called an actual election, and a younger man named Macky Sall won the election. Wade conceded.

Caught my attention because a real election is a sign of a healthy government, a sign of a functioning nation. Elections DO NOT CREATE healthy governments, just as fevers and vomiting do not create health; but a body that can heat up and puke when necessary is a body with a good immune system. (America has lost this ability. We caught national AIDS in 1989. Death is our destiny.)

What makes Senegal healthy? I know nothing about it except how it looks on a map.

The CIA's 'factbook' for Senegal summarizes:

Senegal relies heavily on donor assistance. The country's key export industries are phosphate mining, fertilizer production, and commercial fishing. The country is also working on iron ore and oil exploration projects. In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging over 5% annually during 1995-2007. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the single digits. The country was adversely affected by the global economic downturn in 2009 and GDP growth fell to 2%. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff and a more stable monetary policy. High unemployment, however, continues to prompt illegal migrants to flee Senegal in search of better job opportunities in Europe. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief program, Senegal benefited from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private-sector debt. In 2007, Senegal and the IMF agreed to a new, non-disbursing, Policy Support Initiative program which was completed in 2010. The IMF approved a new three-year policy support instrument in December 2010 to assist with economic reforms. Senegal receives disbursements from the $540 million Millennium Challenge Account compact it signed in September 2009 for infrastructure and agriculture development. In 2010, the Senegalese people protested against frequent power cuts. The government pledged to expand power capacity by 2012 and to promote renewable energy, but until Senegal has more capacity, more protests are likely. Foreign investment in Senegal is retarded by Senegal's unfriendly business environment.

Sounds like it was doing fairly well (by African standards) under the guidance of various NGOs, but started to deteriorate when IMF stepped in. That's an unfortunately common pattern.

USDA's country page also indicates reasonable competence:

Population: 12.8 million (2008 est.)
GDP per capita: $8,400 (2008 est.)
Agriculture: 17% of GDP
Agricultural Production: groundnut, millet, sorghum,
rice, cotton, mangoes, vegetables, melons, corn and cattle
Major Senegal Agricultural Exports: fish, groundnuts, phosphates, cotton and petroleum products
Major U.S. Agricultural Exports to Senegal: rice, pulses, soybean oil, poultry meat and vegetable oils

Note the GDP per capita, well above most of Africa.

Senegal seems to have been mildly affected by a 2010 West Africa famine, but escaped the serious fate of its neighbors.

Nothing dramatic, but taken together, depicts an African country with some hope for the future. Rare enough to be worth a little celebration!
  ¶ 5:26 PM