Stories written by Kristin Palitza
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Rebuilding Zimbabwe’s Health System

A newborn baby lets out a feeble cry as midwife Anna Mungara tends to a small wound on its head, at the provincial hospital in Masvingo, a town in southeast Zimbabwe.

Q&A: How to Create a South African Society that Rewards Hard Work

In his new book, “The Great African Society – A Plan for a Nation Gone Astray”, Hlumelo Biko, the son of late Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, says that if nothing changes in South Africa, the country will become engulfed by corruption, crime, social decay, hopelessness and anger.

Africa’s Economic Growth Not Matched by Poverty Reduction

Despite the rapid economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, the continent has shown a poor capacity to commensurately boost jobs and reduce poverty, according to a report by the African Development Bank titled “Assessing Progress in Africa towards the Millennium Development Goals.”

Africa’s Mobile Health Revolution

A nurse working in a remote clinic in Mueda, a small town in northern Mozambique’s Makonde Plateau, receives a shipment of vaccines from the national health department. Using special software on her mobile phone, she sends out a mass text message to alert mothers in the area about the availability of immunisations.

Saving Tanzania’s Poorest Children

Half asleep, Anuary lies exhausted on his bed in Amana Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s capital. His mother, Mariam Saidi, sits on the edge of his mattress, staring blankly out of the window. Every now and then, she turns to wipe her 18-month-old son’s forehead.

Q&A: Rescuing Child Soldiers in CAR

The protection of children remains critical in the Central African Republic, where parents willingly give their children to armed groups in exchange for protection and services.

Chinese workers in front of five star 90-million dollar hotel in Malawi. Credit: Claire Ngozo/IPS

China Keen to Reverse Negative Image in Africa

The reality of Indian and Chinese investment in Africa is much more complex than the good cop, bad cop image of Asia’s two emerging economic giants.

“Africa – a Place Where You Will Make Money, Not Lose Money”

Africa needs to reduce its dependency on foreign aid and get to the point of financing its own development, some of the continent’s key development experts say. Timing is optimal now that Africa is experiencing an economic boom with annual growth rates of up to eight percent.

In Mauritania mobile phones are used in rural areas. Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

Q&A: Skipping Lunch to Afford a Mobile Phone in Africa

On a continent of over one billion people, where half the population have mobile phones, the use of mobile communication and internet technologies is crucial to boost development in Africa.

Encouraging business in Africa will help reach the MDGs.  Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

Governments Can’t Do It Alone

African countries need more support from the private sector in order to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015, which include important development targets like poverty reduction, and improved health and education.

Farmer Selinah Mncwango is proud of her traditional sorghum seeds.  Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

South Africa’s Smallholders Lose Battle for Seed Security

In an almost ceremonial manner, Selinah Mncwango opens her big plastic bag and pulls out several smaller packets, each filled with different types of seeds: sorghum, bean, pumpkin, and maize. They are her pride, her wealth, the "pillar of my family," says the farmer from a village in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.

Johannesburg Stock Exchange CEO Nicky Newton-King.  Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

Q&A: Increasing Investment Opportunities in Africa

More than three years after the start of the global economic crisis, which has had a considerable impact on African trade, investments and gross domestic product, investment prospects on the continent are increasing.

Recycling cooperative member Andiswa Konco sorts garbage.  Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

The Business of South Africa’s Garbage

Nokwanda Sotyantya sits among heaps of garbage and patiently sorts through it, separating cardboard, plastic, glass, paper and metal, piece by piece. The recycled piles of trash are then weighed and sold to packaging manufacturers in South Africa that reuse the materials to create new products.

Marcolino Moro, a member of Angola's ruling party, is concerned about the country’s stability. Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

After Ten Years of Peace, “Angola’s Future is Dark”

Angola is celebrating 10 years of peace on Apr. 4. Since the end of its 27-year- long civil war in 2002, the country’s economy has prospered thanks to oil. But experts fear that parliamentary elections later this year could return the country to violence and instability.

Maternal health is not a priority in Africa.  Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

Africa’s Political Instability Hinders Maternal Health Progress

Political instability, civil strife and humanitarian crises in Africa have over the past decades reversed countless maternal health development gains on the continent, health experts warn.

Thousands of Ivorian children were separated from their parents during the post-election violence in 2011.  Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

The Lost Innocence of Côte d’Ivoire’s Children

The group of children playing in a shaded courtyard in Côte d’Ivoire’s economic capital Abidjan seem carefree. But when a car exhaust blasts, they tremble. When a soldier walks past, they shudder. And they become anxious when an unknown adult approaches them.

A health worker explains the sexual transmission of infections at the family planning clinic in Yopougon.  Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

Men Still Make the Decisions on Reproductive Rights in Côte d’Ivoire

"I would like to use contraception, but my husband is against it," says Bintou Moussa*. The 32-year-old mother has just given birth to her sixth child at the Abobo General Hospital in Cote d’Ivoire’s commercial capital Abidjan.


Dr. Tenedia Soro-Coulibaly (right) with patient Angama Ouattara, and her mother Minata (left). Credit: Kristin Palitza/IPS

Struggling to Rebuild Côte d’Ivoire’s Health System

One-year-old Angama Ouattara lies on a rusted hospital bed, a drip attached to her tiny, left foot. Her mother, Minata, sits on the edge of the mattress, smoothing out the sheets she had to bring from home.

“A Catastrophic Year” as Hunger Crisis Looms over Sahel

Seven out of the eight governments in the Sahel – the arid zone between the Sahara desert in North Africa and Sudan’s Savannas in the south – have taken the unprecedented step of declaring emergencies as 12 million people in the region are threatened by hunger.

MAURITANIA: Ravaged by Drought – the Number of Malnourished Children Rises

Mariem Mint Ahmedou sits cross-legged on a worn-out carpet in a basic tent built with mud bricks and layers of sewn-together fabric. Her eight-month-old twins, Hussein and Hassan, lie weakly against her body. Both of them have been malnourished since birth, because Beydar, undernourished herself, cannot produce enough breast milk to feed them.

HEALTH-SOUTH AFRICA: HIV-Related Deaths Slow Economy

If there was no HIV/AIDS, South Africa would have 4.4 million more people than today, the size of a major city. This significant slow-down in population growth is causing a slow down in economic growth and resulting in social ills, researchers warn.

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comparative criminal justice systems