Africa

NAIROBI

African Union Must Do More for Peace

By Miriam Gathigah
“My husband and older son, unable to cope with the war, became mentally ill. Two of my sons became child soldiers and an eight-year-old daughter was abducted – they were never to be seen again,” Mariamu Dong says, referring to the 21-year civil war between north and south Sudan, which are now separate countries.

OP-ED: Making Every African Child Count

By Martin Mogwanja and Carlos Lopes
There is much to celebrate this week as the African Union marks 50 years as an independent pan-African entity. 

Q&A: “From Slaves to Generals and Rulers”

By Sudeshna Chowdhury
Say "Africa" and myriad images flood our minds. Like its landscape and peoples, the continent's history is rich and diverse. While numerous books have been written and films made on the African slave trade in the West, a lesser-known aspect of the continent’s history lies in India.

Africa Leads Fight Against HIV

By Siphosethu Stuurman
With its youthful population, fast growing economies and an expanding middle class, Africa has much to celebrate on 25th May, Africa Day.

Marrying Off South Sudan’s Girls for Cows

By Charlton Doki
“Our daughters are our only source of wealth. Where else do you expect me to get cows from?” asks 60-year-old Jacob Deng from South Sudan’s Jonglei state.

Water Debt and Leaks Plague City Residents

By Brendon Bosworth
Nokuzola Bulana has a problem with leaks. The water that drips from the pipes of the toilet outside her home in Khayelitsha, a large semi-informal township on the fringes of Cape Town, South Africa goes to waste and drives up her water bill.

New Effort Targets the Leading Killers of Children

By Lucy Westcott
PATH, a Seattle-based global health development organisation, is aiming to save two million lives by 2015 by jointly tackling diarrhea and pneumonia, the leading killers of children globally.

Growing Peas and Greens to Maximise Water Usage

By Miriam Gathigah
Amid warnings that Kenya’s agricultural water use is surpassing sustainable levels and adversely affecting food security, biodiversity researchers say that agrobiodiversity should be considered as a vital tool to combat this.

Kariba Dispossessed Still Waiting for Promised Better Life

By Garikai Chaunza
Fifty seven thousand people were displaced on the Zambian and Zimbabwean sides of the Zambezi River to make way for the construction of the Kariba hydroelectric dam.

SA’s Africa Day Awareness Lagging Behind

By Siphosethu Stuurman
As the continent prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on Africa Day, 25th of May, IPS Africa speaks to ordinary South Africans to hear how they plan to celebrate this important day.

Can South Africa Help Nigeria to Industrialise?

By John Fraser
The lack of economic diversification throughout sub-Saharan Africa means that despite South Africa’s pledges to help Nigeria make the automotive sector the West African nation’s flagship industrial target, it may be difficult to do so, experts say.

Zimbabwe’s Ruling Party Militias Spread Fear of Voting

By Jeffrey Moyo
For the last month Gibson Severe and his wife, Merjury Severe, known opposition supporters from Hurungwe district in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland West Province, have been hiding out in the country’s capital Harare.

It Takes a Village to Educate a Girl

By Souleymane Maâzou
A decade ago, less than a third of school-aged girls in Niger were in class. Today, though significant cultural and religious opposition remains, nearly two-thirds of girls are enrolled in school.

Equality for Women in Africa Still a Work in Progress

By Siphosethu Stuurman
History was made last year July when the African Union Commission elected Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as its chairperson, making her the first woman to lead the organisation.

How to Save a Fish … a Lake and a People

By Mabvuto Banda
Lloyd Phiri, a fisherman from Senga Bay on Lake Malawi’s shores in Malawi’s central region, knows that the lake’s water levels are dropping. He can see it in his catch, which has shrunk by more than 80 percent in recent years.
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