Central Africa

Villager in a field destroyed by elephants. Credit:  Arsène Séverin

Congo Leaves Locals Out of Conservation Plans

"Today, I'm ashamed to have signed the documents creating this park, because I didn't know that we would die of hunger in the middle of the forest." Mpaka- Mbouiti is a leader in the village of Loussala, in the Conkouati-Douli National Park.

Darfuri refugee: a national coalition is seeking to reform Sudan

SUDAN: Rape Is Not Adultery

Women in the Sudanese region of Darfur have been raped with impunity since the start of the conflict there in 2003. Now a campaign to reform the rape law is gaining momentum in the country, promoted by Alliance 149, a national coalition born in late 2009.

Rwandan schoolgirls. Credit:  Aimable Twahirwa/IPS

Outcry as Rwandan Govt Shifts Money to Primary Education

In an attempt to meet the development goal of universal access to primary education by 2015, Rwanda’s government has decided to reallocate a large part of its tertiary education budget to the primary education sector.

PDAs like this one are speeding up data collection and processing to improve delivery of food aid. Credit:  Zack Baddorf/IPS

Handheld Computers Speed Up Burundi Food Aid

Aid organisations say a small handheld computer will allow them to more rapidly assess where food aid is needed most urgently. As a result, fewer Burundians will suffer hunger this year.

Child receiving care in makeshift cholera treatment centre in Sirak, in Cameroon's Extreme North Region. Credit: Reinnier Kazé/IRIN

Government Under Fire As Cholera Epidemic Rages

This death toll from a cholera epidemic in Cameroon's North and Far North provinces stands at 420, according to public health minister André Mama Fouda. The outbreak of the waterborne disease throws an unwelcome spotlight on inadequate access to clean water and sanitation, particularly in the country’s rural north.

Children in Unity State: communities already struggling to find enough food need help if former child soldiers are to be reintegrated successfully. Credit:  Zack Baddorf/IPS

SOUTH SUDAN: Children Too Hungry to Return to Civilian Life

When Timothy was forced into the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) at age 11, the first thing they did was beat him. Then they took him to a military base where his tasks were to carry other soldiers’ bags, wash their clothes, collect firewood for them, and cook their food.

Polling station, Bujumbura: the opposition is unhappy with measures against electoral fraud. Credit:  Olivier Boulot/IPS

Boycott Cedes Power To Burundi’s Ruling Party

The coalition of 11 major opposition parties which boycotted July 23 national assembly elections will also boycott elections to the senate on July 28. The Alliance of Democrats for Change, as the coalition is known, claims that two previous polls - to elect Burundi's district administrators and the president - were characterised by "massive fraud".

DEVELOPMENT-CONGO: Deforestation Threatens South With Famine

The trees are falling in Pool, and there are plenty of people to hear the sound. In a painful irony, the end of armed conflict in 2003, has signaled the wholesale devastation of forests in this southern region of the Republic of Congo.

FARDC troops on parade: activists fear continuing efforts to drive out rebels only intensifies violence against civilians - even by the army itself. Credit:  Eddy Isango/IRIN

DR CONGO: Pursuing Rebels at What Price

Operation Amani Leo, launched jointly by MONUC (the United Nations Mission in Congo) and FARDC (the Congolese army) in January to regain control of mining territories in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu from rebels, while ensuring security for the local population has been extended to September. But Congolese women are arguing for changes in the conduct of military operations.

Registration is essential to access to credit that could help Rwandan women traders establish profitable formal enterprises. Credit:  Aimable Twahirwa/IPS

RWANDA: Women Win by Formalising Businesses

The vast majority of businesses in Rwanda - like elsewhere in Africa - are informal. Government expects that a drive to register an estimated 900,000 informal enterprises will both strengthen these businesses and improve tax revenues.

South Sudanese refugees: greater participation in peace processes could improve protection for women in post-conflict situations. Credit:  Peter Martell/IPS

AFRICA: Women Demand Answers and Action from ICC

With the first Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) under way in the Ugandan capital Kampala, women are crying out for justice for gender-based violence inflicted upon them during the civil conflict in the country’s north.

March at the birth of the African Grandmothers' Movement: 'We demand economic independence to support our families.' Credit:  Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

African Grandmothers Demand Support in Role as Caregivers

"Africa cannot survive without us," is the message from grandmothers representing all corners of the continent.

Q&A: DRC Journalists Have to be Very Careful

Six journalists have been murdered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past six years, four of them in the Eastern region. Official investigations have failed to clarify the circumstances of any of these killings.

CHINA: To Congo, With Trouble

A massive barter deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo trumpeted by China as a showcase of its "win-win" strategy in Africa has been hit by charges of corruption, a court case, and a barrage of western criticism. The surprise onslaught is causing Beijing to suspect a plot to undercut its expanding presence in the resource-rich continent.

Administering oral polio vaccine: resistance to vaccination in neighbouring Nigeria is suspected to be behind the spike in cases of polio in Chad. Credit:  Edward Parsons/IRIN

Chad Redoubles Efforts Against Polio

The polio vaccination campaign under way in Chad has added significance in 2010. The country recorded zero polio cases in 2004, but 66 cases of wild polio were reported in 2009, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

HEALTH-DR CONGO: Coming Together to Fight Malaria

Eight faith-based organisations have set up a pilot project in the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the fight against malaria.

Joint U.N.-Congolese army patrol: fighting near Mbandaka has abated, but in neighbouring Orientale Province 5,000 people are trapped in a war zone. Credit:  Richard Pituwa/IPS

DR CONGO: Uneasy Calm After Fighting in Northwest

Fighting between "Enyélé" insurgents and regular armed forces in the northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo at the beginning of April left 18 people dead, including nine rebels, and triggered mass displacements from the region's principal city, Mbandaka.

At least one observer group says the elections have been compromised by voting irregularities. Credit:  Zack Baddorf/IPS

SUDAN: Problems Lead to Extended Vote

Polling will be postponed in some constituencies in Sudan where technical irregularities marred the voting process, the country’s electoral commission says.

Upcoming elections seem like the prelude to a more serious contest over the future of Sudan in the months to come. Credit:  Peter Martell/IRIN

POLITICS-SUDAN: Stage Set For Bashir Victory

While there is a growing desire for change in Sudan - particularly among the younger urban population in the north - there is no atmosphere of heated campaigning or supporters mobbing candidates in the south, as campaigning for general elections concludes.

Sonwabo Qathula belongs to one of the many groups of men Sonke is helping to break gender stereotypes. Credit:  Kristin Palitza/IPS

SOUTH AFRICA: Men Battle Gender-based Violence

When Mbuyiselo Botha decided to take the African National Congress League President, Julius Malema, to court for hate speech against women, he was confident from the start that the case had merit. But he also knew that this would be the most challenging test of his 15 years of gender activism.

A Darfuri refugee shelters from rain: ICC prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo remains determined to trying the Sudanese president for crimes against humanity. Credit:  Claire McEvoy/IRIN

SUDAN: Bashir May Face Genocide Charges

The International Criminal Court is to review its earlier decision not to add genocide to the charges against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.

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