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Saturday, May 2, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Active Citizens
GHANA: Political Parties Urged to Come Clean
There are growing fears that lack of transparency on how political parties are being funded has given rise to corruption.
RIGHTS-SIERRA LEONE: Journalists Under Attack
Sierra Leone has become a place of torment for journalists practicing their profession.RIGHTS-UGANDA: Bearing the Pains of Double Discrimination
They endure stigma, discrimination, violence and extreme poverty, but Ugandan women living with disabilities say the greatest challenge facing them centres on their reproductive health.SIERRA LEONE: No Easy Road to Reconciliation
Former child soldier Komba Gbondo maimed and killed many people from his hometown, and the 25-year-old is still too terrified to return.KENYA: Construction of Dam Will Devastate Local Communities
Gideon Lepalo describes growing up in Loiyangalani, 20 kilometres from Lake Turkana, as magical. However, he fears the building of Gilgel Gibe III dam in Ethiopia, upstream of the Omo River, will soon mean that his childhood memories of the lake will be exactly that - memories.
RIGHTS-MALAWI: Full Court Trial for Gay Couple
Two men who married each other in a traditional engagement ceremony will have to undergo trial and face years of imprisonment if found guilty of having a homosexual relationship.POLITICS-SUDAN: African Leaders Call for Peaceful Elections
With less than a month to the historic multi-party poll in Africa’s largest country, Sudan, eminent African leaders are calling for a peaceful and calm election process.EDUCATION-SIERRA LEONE: Government Ignores Demands for Additional Teachers
Ismail Conteh has been teaching for the past year-and-a-half at a primary school in Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown – without receiving a single cent. He is one of hundreds of teachers recruited by schools to match the ever-growing number of pupils.
RIGHTS-MALAWI: Country Not Safe for Homosexuals
Malawi is quickly becoming unsafe for homosexuals as the country’s police service recently launched a campaign to hunt down and arrest prominent people who are suspected of being gay.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: ‘We Will Demonstrate, As They Celebrate’
‘Equal rights; equal opportunities’ may be the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, but while women around the world celebrate, a group of Ugandan women are protesting against the suppression of their rights.
UGANDA: Pressure Mounts to Make Public Oil Agreements
Uganda’s members of parliament (MPs) are pressurising government to make public details of oil production-sharing agreements it signed with various international oil companies.MALAWI: Extra Money Allocated for Drought Relief
Maize farmer Anita Yunus has lived near the Mulanje Mountain in southern Malawi for over 30 years. And she does not remember there ever being a drought in the area.GHANA: Constitution Under the Knife
After 18 years of successful multi-party democracy, Ghanaians are bracing themselves to review the Fourth Republican Constitution.
ETHIOPIA: Dam Critics Won’t Go Away
Ethiopia is building a 240-metre high dam on the Omo River that is intended to end the country's electricity shortage and supply power to neighbouring countries. Not everyone's happy.POLITICS-SUDAN: Security Essential to Ensure Peaceful Elections
Peace in Sudan remains an uncertainty ahead of the country’s first general elections in 24 years, according to the African Union Commission chief.
RIGHTS-UGANDA: Fugitives in Their Own Country
Every morning Pepe Julian Onziema wakes up not knowing if she will live to see another rising sun. Onziema is transgender and she lives in fear for her life because of a national campaign against gay people.
POLITICS-UGANDA: Sharing the National Cake
Their caricatures show great wealth and status, being driven in flashy four-wheel drives surrounded by bodyguards, and receiving benefits including mansions, cars, medical care and travel and sitting allowances. They are treated as Very Important Persons.
SOUTH SUDAN: Changing of the Guard
An old rite is long overdue in Paul Yugusak Tombe’s home village, in Central Equatoria State, south Sudan.ZAMBIA: Scarcely Room for Women in Male-dominated Politics
Charity Mwansa, a former minister and member of parliament, knows just exactly what being one of the very few female politicians in Zambia means. When she left politics it had nothing to with not being able to do the work and instead had everything to do with the mad world of male-dominated politics.
SOUTH SUDAN: Tension Builds as Peace Agreement Marks Anniversary
Sudan is at a crossroads. Its future looks grim. "Only a miracle can save it from disintegrating. The signs are already on the wall," says Khamis Lako, a petty trader in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
MALAWI: Love That Dares To Speak Its Name
The traditional engagement ceremony of two men on Dec. 26, 2009 has created controversy in conservative Malawi. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza were arrested two days after their engagement and remain in police custody, facing long jail terms.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Active citizens are committed to social change because they know that it is achievable. Yet, for most Africans, a shift towards elected government in recent decades has yet to translate into an effective voice in decision-making. Now, the Strengthening Citizen Demand for Good Governance using evidence based approaches - funded by DFID's Governance and Transparency Fund - seeks to raise their voices. Through its partnership with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and CIVICUS,, IPS reporters across the continent will seek to define the extent and limits of state capability, government accountability and the responsiveness of leaders to the needs of citizens.
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