The Longer Peace Takes, the Worse it Gets for South Sudanese

South Sudan is taking the first steps in what promises to be a long process of healing the fractures that prompted more than five weeks of fighting, potentially leaving thousands of people dead and wounded and displacing 863,000 others.

Greater Transparency Urged for U.N.’s South Sudan Mission

As South Sudan’s fragile ceasefire threatens to unravel, human rights groups are calling on the U.N.’s mission there to make public its human rights reporting, a step they say will help lay the groundwork for reconciliation that never took place following independence in 2011.

Mali’s Displaced Still Have Nothing To Return To

In her traditional orange headdress, Agaichetou Toure sits quietly in a waiting room in Kalaban-Koura, a popular neighbourhood on the outskirts of Mali’s capital Bamako. 

CAR’s Sectarian Strife Worsens Despite French, AU Troops

Reports of horrific revenge killing continued to emerge from the Central African Republic Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the Security Council voted to increase the international troop presence there and levy sanctions against those it suspects of war crimes.

Cyber Bullies Target Kenya’s Women

For a seasoned politician like Kenya’s Rachael Shebesh, few things hold her back from rallying for women’s rights. But when it comes to furthering her platform on social media - it is the one thing that this Nairobi County women’s representative avoids.

Kenya’s Journey Towards Zero New HIV Infections Falters

In early January 2008, during the violence that rocked Kenya after disputed general elections, a man knocked at Lucia Wakonyo’s gate at Mathare Valley, in the sprawling Mathare slum. 

Q&A: Africa’s Tremendous Progress Amid War and Famine

The issue of peace and security, particularly in South Sudan and the Central African Republic, are expected to dominate the discussions at the African Union’s (AU) semi-annual summit being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this week.

Resistance Over GMOs as South Africa Pushes Biotechnology

On a family farm tucked between the rolling hills of Masopane, 40 km outside of South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, 35-year-old Sophie Mabhena is dreaming big about her crop of genetically modified (GM) maize.

South Sudan’s Ceasefire Far from Conclusive

When representatives of the warring factions of South Sudan signed an agreement to end hostilities at a luxury hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday, Jan, 23, fervent applause and some high-pitched ululations erupted from the audience.

South Sudan’s Ceasefire Brings Hope For Half a Million Displaced

The overwhelming job of providing relief to the more than half a million displaced and wounded in South Sudan may have gotten a little easier with the signing of a ceasefire agreement last night in Addis Ababa, which is set to go into effect today.

Kenya’s Scorched Earth Removal of Forest’s Indigenous

Kenyan government security forces are forcefully evicting thousands of people, including the indigenous Sengwer tribe, from the Embobut forest in western Kenya by burning homes and possessions in an effort to promote forest conservation, safeguard urban water access and “remove squatters”.

U.S. Agency Accused of Safeguards Failure in Liberia Investment

Hundreds of Liberians have filed a complaint accusing a U.S. government agency of failure to carry out due diligence or ensure that safeguards were followed for investments made to a failed biomass project in Liberia.

Saving Cameroonians from Ill Health

The Cameroonian government has begun a crackdown on illegal medical facilities and plans to shut down more than 524 medical training centres and 600 private clinics operating unlawfully in this Central African nation. 

New Leader in CAR, Same Human Rights Crisis?

The appointment of a new transitional president, Catherine Samba-Panza, in the Central African Republic (CAR) is generating optimism in some quarters that the country’s first female leader will manage to quell mounting ethnic strife.

The Missing Faces of Ethiopia’s Poor

It’s hard to tell if Gelegay Tsegaye is smiling, since a flap of skin covers half his mouth, but his eyes crinkle when he talks and his muffled voice rings with an upbeat cadence. He’s sitting in a special ward of the Korean Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s most modern healthcare facility. 

Uganda’s Anti-Gay Bill, Unsigned but Still Effective

Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, has reportedly refused to sign a controversial anti-gay bill that would mean life in prison for people convicted of homosexual acts.

Seasonal Migration Frustrates Ethiopia’s Family Planning

Yohamin Kesete, 32, and her six children live in Dollo Ado, a pastoralist community in Ethiopia’s drought-stricken Somali Region. But this is not where you will always find them.

OP-ED: Avoiding Another Crisis in the Central African Republic

The European Union and the United Nations will co-chair a high-level meeting in Brussels on Monday, aiming to mobilise funding to provide immediate life-saving assistance for the Central African Republic.

Africa’s Billions that the Poor Won’t Touch

With its two-trillion-dollar economy, recent discoveries of billions of dollars worth of minerals and oil, and the number of investment opportunities it has to offer global players, Africa is slowly shedding its image as a development burden. 

Tanzania Struggles to End Clashes Between Farmers and Herders

Tanzanian authorities are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with ongoing conflicts between farmers and pastoralists as they fight over limited land and water resources in this East African nation.

Peacekeeping 20 Years after Rwanda

On Jan. 11, 1994, Romeo Dallaire, force commander of the United Nations Mission in Rwanda, sent a fax to U.N. Headquarters in New York, telling officials there a source close to the government had confided to him that Tutsis were being forced to register themselves in Kigali.