U.S. Courts Uphold Conflict Minerals Disclosure

A U.S. federal judge has upheld a key regulatory provision aimed at ensuring that the profits from products mined in central Africa are not used to benefit armed groups, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Zimbabweans Wary of Another Stolen Election

Gibson Muzungu’s hope for a free and fair election on Jul. 31 has faded after local Zimbabwe Africa National Union-Patriotic Front party officials seized his identity card, apparently to check if he was a registered voter.

Smallholders Feed a Nation as Land Reform Fails

Moses Chiengerere is one of the Zimbabwe’s hundreds of thousands of smallholder maize farmers keeping this southern African nation’s granaries stocked with the grain.

‘Missing Melody in the Tune of Sustainable Development’

It is 10.26 am in Kampala and a Ugandan woman is airing her gripe about the opposite sex on the airwaves.

Malnutrition Killing Children in Cameroon

At the Garoua Regional Hospital’s Paediatric Feeding Centre in northern Cameroon, Aicha Ahidjo* is relieved to hear that her one-year-old son will survive. The child was suffering from chronic malnutrition, and other children have died of it.

First Steps to Save Burkina Faso’s Forests

Burkina Faso has just received a grant of 30 million dollars from the Forest Investment Programme to help protect the country's forests and reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with deforestation.

/UPDATE*/ Opinion Divided on Rebirth of Ethiopia’s Opposition

Since the violence that ensued after the ruling party won Ethiopia’s 2005 elections, this East African nation has seen little in the way of political dissent. That is, until the last few months.

Southern African Trade Talks Stall, and the Clock Ticks

Southern Africa has to settle in for another round of negotiations after talks on Economic Partnership Agreements failed to produce results in June, bringing countries closer to losing access to the lucrative European Union market.

In Search of a New Pan-Africanism

Bridging the gap between Pan-Africanism and the African Renaissance has been a top priority for the African Union (AU).

Insuring Ghana’s Smallholder Farmers Against the Weather

Smallholder farmer Suleman Mustapha Simbia, 40, is pleased with the introduction of an insurance initiative called the Ghana Agriculture Insurance Programme. The programme is being implemented in this West African nation to help farmers who had been suffering from loss of income as a result of the bad weather conditions that affect their yields. 

U.S., U.K. Accused of Ignoring, Facilitating Abuses in Ethiopia

The U.S. and U.K. foreign assistance offices are being accused of ignoring, mischaracterising or downplaying testimony offered by ethnic communities in Ethiopia who accuse the Addis Ababa government of forcefully evicting them from their lands and violating their human rights in the name of mass development projects.

Promises to Gas Victims Only ‘Hot Air’

Ismaela Muhamadu was six years old when he lost his parents and siblings in a poisonous gas explosion at northern Cameroon’s Lake Nyos. The blast killed more than 1,800 people, and 3,000 cattle and wildlife over a 25-km radius.

U.N. Deploys Women Protection Advisers to Curb Sexual Violence

Despite the United Nations' "zero tolerance" policy against sexual violence, there has been a rash of gender-based crimes in several of the world's conflict zones, including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Northern Uganda, Somalia, the Central African Republic - and, more recently, in politically-troubled Egypt and Syria.

In Kenya, Small Is Vulnerable

With the country's food security and farmers' livelihoods at risk from climate change, Kenya has divergent policy options. One is reliant on deploying new technologies as well as improving and expanding use of fertilisers and pesticides; while the other would turn to indigenous knowledge and the country's natural biodiversity.

REDD a ‘False Solution’ for Africa

REDD – reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation – would seem to be a mitigation strategy that perfectly matches Africa's needs.

Need to Protect DRC’s School Girls from Sexual Assault

In some Democratic Republic of Congo schools, teachers and senior authorities are using their status to abuse girls who do not know their rights, according to the African Association for the Defence of Human Rights.

Small Businesses Tackle Poverty in Mauritius

Raja Venkat, a food vendor on the sidewalk of Immigration Square in the centre of Port Louis, the Mauritian capital, sits on his tricycle with a bag full of dhal puris - small, round, flat Indian bread stuffed with pulses - which he sells together with tomato sauce and bean curry.

Time to Let Sudan’s Girls Be Girls, Not Brides

Lawyers and rights activists are calling for a change in Sudan’s laws which allow for the marriage of girls as young as 10.

Lighting Up Kampala’s Informal Settlements

As he sits in the family lounge in Kamwokya, an informal settlement in Kampala, with the afternoon sunshine streaming through the door, Joseph Senkungu remembers a time when life, and his home, was very dark.

Saving Côte d’Ivoire’s Fragile Forests and People

As the Côte d’Ivoire government clears its protected forests of illegal occupiers, particularly in the Dix-Huit Montagnes region, environmentalists say that this crucial move might lead to conflict in an already tense region.

Kenya’s Mothers Shun Free Maternity Health Care

It has been a month since the Kenyan government waived the maternity fee at public health facilities, but Millicent Awino is still one of the many expectant mothers in favour of a home birth.