Legislation Alone Will Not Address Africa’s Climate Challenges

Despite a raft of legislation dealing with the environment, African countries are still falling short when it comes to enforcing the legal instruments that respond to challenges posed by climate change, researchers say. 

Malawi’s President Joyce Banda Gains Support for ‘Fraudulent Election’ Recount

When Malawi's President Joyce Banda said that last week's elections were fraudulent and riddled with rampant irregularities, social media went viral calling her a loser. 

Ugandan Lawyer Revolutionises Access to Justice with Just an iPhone and Facebook

When Gerald Abila received an iPhone as a gift almost two years ago, the Ugandan law student didn’t just use it to text his friends. He used it to create what would eventually become the first entity of its kind in East Africa — a tech savvy, multi-award winning, organisation that uses Facebook, Twitter, SMSes, and radio and television partnerships to provide free legal advice and consultations.

South Africa’s Quest to Cut Carbon Emissions

OP-ED: Why Ending Child Marriage in Africa Can No Longer Wait

Just 17 years old, Clarisse is already a mother of two, who lives with her husband and his four other wives in rural southern Chad. Three years earlier, she had watched her mom and sisters preparing food for a party one day. At first she celebrated along with everyone else, not realising it was her own wedding ceremony. When she discovered this, she was frantic.

Offsets to Cushion South African Carbon Tax

To curb greenhouse gas emissions, South Africa wants to put a tax on carbon emissions from big polluters.

Somalia Warns Kenyan Refugee Expulsion Will Lead to ‘Chaos and Anarchy’

Somalia’s State Minister for Interior and Federalism Affairs Mohamud Moalim Yahye has told IPS that the hasty repatriation and mass deportation of its citizens by Kenya could compromise recent, critical security improvements made by regional governments against the Islamic extremist group, Al-Shabaab.

Burundi Headed for Election Turmoil as Ruling Party Allegedly Arms Youth Wing

Burundi could be heading for political violence ahead of the 2015 elections amid allegations that the ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD) has been arming its youth wing.

Divided Opinions on Feasibility of Kenya’s Option B+ Roll Out

Kenya’s health sector has been facing significant challenges, ranging from a shortage of health care providers to a series of labour strikes. The problems have not only disrupted health services, but have HIV experts divided on whether to roll out Option B+ nationwide or just to pilot it in high volume facilities such as major referral hospitals. 

African Union Takes Stock of 51 Years as Terrorism Spreads Across Continent

As the African Union is set to celebrate its 51st birthday on May 25, it does so as the continent remains caught up in a tide of terrorist conflicts, which many analysts feel the AU has done little to resolve.

Vibrant Civil Society, A Must For South Sudan

I had the privilege of visiting South Sudan a few months after the world’s youngest state had been born in July 2011.  Then, most people were wondering what the future held for the country.  The road has not been easy so far.

China Tightens Grip On Africa

Janice Gacheri imports handbags and shoes from China which she sells on social media sites and by word of mouth to customers in Nairobi and neighbouring towns. 

Days After African Leaders Vow to Defeat Boko Haram, Bombings and Terror Continue

Multiple car bombs killed dozens Tuesday in the central Nigerian city of Jos, Plateau state, days after a security summit in France where African leaders committed to a “war” on Nigeria’s Islamist rebels, Boko Haram.

OP-ED: Violence Leaves Women, Girls, and Young People on the Edge in South Sudan

As with many conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies around the world, those who suffer the most are women, young girls and children. The current terrible crisis in South Sudan is no exception. 

U.N. Decries Water as Weapon of War in Military Conflicts

The United Nations, which is trying to help resolve the widespread shortage of water in the developing world, is faced with a growing new problem: the use of water as a weapon of war in ongoing conflicts.

OP-ED: Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture It!

Nearly 20 years ago, the world came together in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women. There, 189 governments adopted a visionary roadmap for gender equality: the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Viral Load Testing Dismally Absent in Africa

As Africa scales up lifesaving antiretroviral therapy for HIV positive people, concerns are rife that the absence of mass routine viral load testing will hamper extending treatment to the millions who need it.

No Silver Lining for Somalia’s Child Labourers

Twelve-year-old Halima Mohamed Ali wakes up every morning at five am, but unlike her peers she does not go to school. Instead, she begins her duties as a nanny for five children, the oldest of whom is just two years younger than she is.

Why Nigeria Couldn’t Keep Schoolgirls Safe and Why Paris Summit May Offer Hope

Tomorrow Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan will meet other heads of state at a security summit in Paris, France to focus on ways of combatting Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group which kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok in April.

OP-ED: Militarised Humanitarianism in Africa

As the world remains transfixed by the kidnapping of almost 300 Nigerian girls, there have been increasing calls for international intervention in the effort to rescue them. But what many people don’t know is that the U.S. military has been active in the region for years.

Votes Tell a Story Opposite to South Africa’s Economic Policies

On Tuesday international ratings agency, Moody’s, rated South Africa a credit positive, saying that the results of last week’s general election ensured a continuity of the country’s macroeconomic policy. But the success of the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) tells a different story of the country’s economic inequalities.