SOUTH AFRICA: Nurse Shortage Cripples Health System

In the impoverished informal settlement of Du Noon, 20 kilometres north of Cape Town, sick residents rely on a single clinic staffed by six nurses to meet their health needs.

Q&A: 'Corruption Nourishes Poverty'

A new report by Transparency International (TI) lashes out at some of the world's poorest countries for an "ongoing humanitarian disaster", and deplores the wealthiest for not doing enough to stem graft.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: Manuel, Mbeki Resignations Welcomed by Some

Minutes after the news broke today that Trevor Manuel, South African minister of finance, resigned from his post, the South African currency lost ground against international currencies, falling 20 cents against the dollar within less than an hour.

UGANDA: Women Wield Fair Trade Tools to Beat Poverty

Producing baskets and mats in central Uganda has traditionally been women’s work. Women made these items for use in homes. The National Association of Women Organisations in Uganda (NAWOU) has changed this practice into a powerful force fighting poverty.

KENYA: Tea Market Tumultuous as Trading Partners Change

Tea used to be Kenya’s major cash crop earner but ever since the world’s largest consumer of tea, Pakistan, entered into a free trade agreement with seven of its Asian neighbours, the local tea industry has been haemorrhaging.

MEDIA: Lula a "Tireless Advocate" for the Poor and Landless

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who rose from a poor childhood to lead a growing economic powerhouse that has placed the ideal of inclusive prosperity at the centre of its development policies, received the Inter Press Service (IPS) International Achievement Award 2008 Monday.

RIGHTS-SENEGAL: Street Children at Risk of Exploitation

The Senegalese capital, Dakar, is filled with street children from villages in Guinea Bissau. These boys from Senegal's southern neighbour - aged anywhere between four and twelve - have been sent by their families to study the Koran, but many are getting very little education.

CARIBBEAN: The Stormy Face of Climate Change

The devastation wrought by hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike in the Caribbean has fuelled concern about the effects of global warming on the formation and intensity of tropical storms, an issue that has divided the scientific community and is causing alarm among island nations and coastal communities.

DEVELOPMENT: Poverty Reduction Claims Under Scrutiny

The World Bank's recent estimates on global poverty, particularly in relation to China, are being challenged by an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) which monitors poverty eradication and gender equality.

AFGHANISTAN: Severe Hunger Can Help Taliban

If 11-year old Zayainullah doesn't bring home enough money today, he says he will get beaten. "We don't have food and my aunt threatened me, saying I have to bring back enough money to buy bread," he says.

ARGENTINA: Soup Kitchens Feel Impact of Rising Food Prices

"It breaks my heart because I know these kids don't have anything to eat, but I can’t serve any more people," says Estela Esquivel, talking about children who have been turned away at dinnertime from the La Casita de la Virgen soup kitchen in La Cava, a slum neighbourhood on the north side of the Argentine capital.

DEVELOPMENT: Ending Africa's Food Crisis

Africa's food crisis can be alleviated by modernising agriculture and reforming supply chains so that small-scale farmers get cheaper fertiliser and high-yield seeds, experts and officials at a conference in Oslo have argued. But so far, they say, funding is lacking.

DEVELOPMENT: Huge Gender Gap Between Rhetoric and Reality

When over 150 world leaders attend a summit meeting next week to discuss the status of the U.N.'s eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), one of the primary issues on the agenda will be goal number 3: promoting gender equality and gender empowerment.

DEVELOPMENT: Global Fund Puts Spotlight on Sanitation

The Global Sanitation Fund (GSF), created last March with a 100-million-dollar target per year, is being billed as a key financing mechanism aimed at meeting one of the eight U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

ECONOMY-KENYA: Shady Deals and Intrigues Haunt Privatisation

The Kenya Railways Corporation was more than a national utility. It was a repository of Kenya’s history, beginning in the 19th century when indentured Indian labourers were brought to the East African region to build the Kenya-Uganda railway line.

WEST AFRICA: Cotton Symbolises Global Trade System’s 'Iniquity'

The international cotton trade has been a sad tale for West African countries. The region produces five percent of the world’s cotton and 15 percent of the global cotton fibre trade. Yet West African cotton farmers are among the poorest in the world.

AGRICULTURE-SWAZILAND: Young Farmers Improving Food Security

When her friends go out to play with skipping rope during break, 12 year old Noncedo Masina takes her watering can and goes to work on her plot at the school vegetable garden.

RIGHTS: Women Fight to Put Violence on Global Agenda

Joyce and Tanya - two women of different ages, nationalities, cultures and religions - share something: both became victims of a missing goal.

Q&A: "The Notion that Water Is Forever Is Wrong"

Venality, greed, corruption - the documentary film "Flow: For Love of Water" could just as easily be subtitled "The Evil That Men Do."

DEVELOPMENT: Millions More Children Attending School

Despite the world not being on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), there has been real progress - even in some of the world's poorest countries.

KENYA: Ready For New Abortion Law?

In May 2008, a group of civil society activists launched a campaign to reform Kenya's archaic abortion laws, sparking a countrywide debate. Now, as a new draft bill on women's reproductive health and rights seeking to decriminalise abortions is set to be tabled in parliament, the battle lines between opponents and advocates of abortion are clearly drawn.