Mexico, the End of the ‘American Dream’ for Child Migrants

For many undocumented child migrants from Central America, Mexico is the end of the road in their endeavour to reach the United States, driven by economic reasons, gang violence and domestic violence.

Breast Milk Banks, From Brazil to the World

Cíntia Rose Regis, 23, not only breastfeeds her 16-month-old daughter Zelda but has also been donating 600 ml a week of breast milk to a mothers’ milk bank in Brazil over the last year.

Keeping Girls in School in Uganda

Three years ago, after Irene Kamyuka finished her sixth year of primary school in Uganda, her father ran short of money. With four siblings ahead of her in school, Kamyuka’s father told her she would have to drop out until his finances turned around.

Uganda’s ‘Haunted’ Children Slow to Receive Medical Help

On a wet earth littered with fresh fruit from a large mango tree in Tumangu village in northern Uganda, Betty Olana (42) sits on a papyrus mat watching over four emaciated children infected by the mysterious nodding syndrome that leaves victims mentally challenged and nodding repeatedly when they see food or cold water.

India Coaxes Tribal Girls Into Schools

The deafening din of the lunch gong is sweet music to the 200-odd tribal girls rushing down the stairway, clutching stainless steel plates and tumblers.

Saving the Lives of Malawi’s Children

Three-month-old Simplicious Gift lives in Mafunga village in Malawi’s southern rural district of Chikhwawa, 48 kilometres from the commercial capital, Blantyre. His is a poor farming village of about 1,200 people who live off their harvests and the produce from their livestock of goats, pigs and cows.

‘Cambodia Can’t Afford New Dengue Vaccine’

Public health experts in Cambodia are unenthused by reports of trials for a dengue vaccine conducted in neighbouring Thailand, saying it will be too costly for those who need it most – children in the least developed and developing countries.

“Two Children May Have Died for You to Have Your Mobile Phone”

"It’s possible that two children died so that you could have that mobile phone,” says Jean-Bertin, a 34-year-old Congolese activist who wants to end the “absolute silence” around the crimes committed in his country to exploit strategic raw materials like coltan.

Taliban Need No Education

Samina Afridi, a lecturer at the University of Peshawar, regrets that down history the leaders of the Pashtun (also Pakhtun) tribes have conspired to keep them away from education and literacy. The Taliban are only the latest example.

Côte d’Ivoire’s Universities – Shedding a Legacy of Violence and Corruption

Yacouba Coulibaly was pursuing a doctorate in education at Cocody University in Abidjan before Côte d’Ivoire’s post-election violence started in 2010. But his classes were routinely disrupted by armed members of a powerful student federation that wished to hold meetings instead.

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.

Israeli Soldiers Show No Mercy to Palestinian Children

In a hamlet of the occupied West Bank, the testimony goes, Israeli troops chase a Palestinian child. “He was about two metres away – the company commander cocked his weapon in his face...The kid fell on the ground, crying and begging for his life.”  

Rapes of Young Girls in DRC Still Unpunished

A rash of recent rape cases has sparked local criticism of the weakness of the justice system in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where inadequate resources and simple incompetence mean survivors of sexual violence hold little hope of obtaining justice.

Lean Times Get Leaner in Northern Cote d’Ivoire

Salimata Coulibaly, director of a medical centre in the town of Korhogo in the northern Cote d’Ivoire region of Savanes, stood before a chart displaying before-and-after photos of local children – one taken when each child arrived at the centre, and one after he or she responded to treatment for malnutrition.

Pakistan’s Measles Deaths Hinder Global Goals

Measles outbreaks, which have killed at least 100 children in Pakistan’s militancy-hit border areas since May, have prompted calls by experts for better cooperation in territories adjacent to Afghanistan with international immunisation campaigns.

Using Cameroon’s Community Grapevine to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission

For nearly two years, not a single child with HIV has been born at the public hospital in the Cité-Verte district of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Dr Emilien Fouda, the hospital's director, says this proud record is the result of combined effort by his staff and community support groups.

Teachers’ Strike Does Not Mean Political Liberation for Swaziland

Swazis should not see the ongoing nationwide one-month teachers’ strike as a movement capable of overthrowing the political regime here, despite the fact that civil servants and nurses have joined the action, according to political analyst Dr. Sikelela Dlamini.

Q&A: “Israel’s Heavy-Handed Abuse of Palestinian Children Is Unacceptable”

After a fact-finding tour of the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip - and following hearings in Amman and Cairo - a three-member United Nations committee has lambasted Israel for the harsh treatment of Palestinian children held in custody.

Pouring Edible Oil on Pakistan’s Troubled Areas

PESHAWAR,  Jul 28 2012 (IPS) -Taking turns to lug a heavy can of edible oil, Mushtari and Sheema Gul, twin sisters aged nine, trip home happily from their school in Ghareebabad village in Pakistan’s troubled Bajaur Agency.

Punish Those Carrying Out FGM, Say Côte d’Ivoire Campaigners

Nine women in the northern Côte d'Ivoire town of Katiola have been convicted for carrying out female genital mutilation – the first time that a 1998 law banning FGM has been applied.

In the Pursuit of Education: Burkina Faso’s School for Shepherds

Salou Bandé is proud to stand at the front of the only classroom in the village of Bénnogo, 90 kilometres north of the Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou, sharing his knowledge with his students. He is part of an initiative to improve education for nomadic children in the West African country.