EAST AFRICA: Millions Stare Death in the Face Amidst Ravaging Drought

While Kenya struggles to cope with the influx of refuges fleeing the drought in Somalia, it is estimated that about 1,300 people arrive daily at the Dadaab refugee camp, the country is facing its own crisis of malnutrition and starvation.

BURKINA FASO: Big Boost for Small Agricultural Producers

The government of Burkina Faso has responded to long-standing demands of farmers for greater support for small family producers with the launch of "Operation 100,000 Ploughs". Smallholder farmers say this will strengthen the country's food security.

COLOMBIA: ‘Matriarch’ Leads Struggle to Recover Stolen Land

"God willing, we will make it" reads the sign on a rusty old all-terrain vehicle, ideal for the complicated drive to the remote Curbaradó river valley in the banana-producing region of Urabá in northwest Colombia.

SOMALIA: Will the Prime Minister Uphold Media Freedom?

The appointment of a new prime minister in Somalia amid protests and a media crackdown will do nothing to resolve the country’s problems of corruption and cronyism, political analysts say. But they hope the new appointee may be able to do something about media freedom in the country.

HEALTH-UGANDA: Self Medication Blamed for Increased Drug Resistance

In pharmacies in the heart of Kampala men and women line up to buy drugs that you usually need a prescription for, like Coartem, a drug used to treat malaria.

AFRICA: The Struggle for Women to Own Land

Even at the best of times, obtaining a title deed from the ministry of lands is a difficult process. But as the minister of lands admitted on Jul. 13 that his office is rife with corruption, the disorganisation of this office means Kenyan women are no closer to owning land.

OP-ED: Afghan Women Fight Back Against Harassment

My mother entered the house and pushed the door closed with anger. After getting a cup of green tea, she sat in front of the television as her children watched her with concern and confusion.

Q&A: “Urgent CO2 Cuts Critical to Save Our Oceans”

The health of the world's oceans is much worse than is widely believed, but it is not too late to change tack and help this critical ecosystem recover, at least in part, experts say.

Turning Education From a Privilege into a Right

Going to school and receiving an education are opportunities most people usually take for granted. But for 67 million children around the world, such possibilities do not exist.

ASIA: Activists Press for Gender Equality in Forest Tenure Reforms

A 1993 forest act gave back Nepal its green hills, many believe. Activists say the law was also a catalyst for positive change in an area not readily linked with it – women’s rights in rural Nepal.

UGANDA: In Search of Better Medical Care

Even though government health services are free, Grace Nafungo Kutosi doesn’t mind paying the two thousand shillings (about one dollar) when she visits the non-governmental Beatrice Tierney Clinic in Bumwalukani village. In fact, paying the fee at the clinic, which is a 20-minute walk from her home, is cheaper than her having to travel to the nearest government clinic almost seven kilometres away.

ANGOLA: Law on Domestic Violence a Step Forward for Women’s Rights

Domestically abused women who are financially dependent on their abusers can now report the crime with the assurance that they will be able to get financial and medical support from the state, thanks to the country’s new law on domestic violence.

SOUTH SUDAN: Born into Crisis – Violence Against Women Continues

Violence against women is rampant, devastating and tolerated in South Sudan and the new country needs to address these gross human rights violations and train people, especially soldiers, to respect women’s rights.

SOUTH SUDAN: A Country Split – But What Happens to the People?

When the Republic of South Sudan gained independence from the north, it was more than a geographical split. Families in South Sudan and Sudan could be forced apart as both countries wrangle out the issue of citizenship and who belongs where.

BRAZIL: Women in Favelas Broadcast Peace

Local women's voices have begun to be heard over a community radio station now broadcasting in Complexo do Alemao, a clump of favelas or shantytowns on the north side of this Brazilian city that were ruled until recently by armed drug gangs.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Majority Still Lack Access to Safe Water

Only two in every five people in the Southern African Development Community has access to safe water for drinking and household use. Three quarters of those lacking access, live in rural areas and the majority of these are women and children.

INDIA: Sex Selection on the Rise Despite Stricter Law

When Sujatha’s husband learned that she had conceived just five months after they got married, he became agitated over what he called her "ill-timed pregnancy". To worsen her husband’s anxiety, a test to determine the sex of the foetus showed she was carrying a girl.

Q&A: “UN Women Is Creating a New Energy”

While in New York to celebrate the launch of UN Women's flagship biennium publication, "Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice", Botswana's Unity Dow sat down with IPS to discuss the United Nations' newest entity, its landmark report, and the road ahead for women.

KENYA: Strategy to Counter Counterfeit Medicine

In Kenya buying medicine from any unregistered pharmacy outlet means that you are running a higher risk of buying either substandard or counterfeit drugs that form 30 percent of all drugs sold in the country.

“BRICS Can Ensure Affordable Drugs”

While ‘data exclusivity’ clauses will not feature in the India-European Union free trade agreement (FTA), the threat posed by the impending deal to the world’s supply of cheap generic drugs is far from over.

SOUTH SUDAN: Witnessing the Birth of a New Country

Macklina Kenyi, 33, ran away from South Sudan to avoid being raped and abducted by the rebels during the war. She has since been studying in Kenya but on Jul. 9 she returned to Juba to witness the birth of her country.