HEALTH: Commonwealth Event Debates Why AIDS Wears “the Face of a Woman”

The issue of women continuing to be at higher risk of HIV infection than men has received considerable attention at a gathering of women's affairs ministers from Commonwealth countries underway in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Continental Government by 2015?

Debate on the prospects for continent-wide government in Africa is heating up ahead of the African Union (AU) summit that is scheduled to begin Jun. 25 in the Ghanaian capital of Accra.

MEDIA-SENEGAL: Radio Station Mired in Technicalities

For a while it appeared as if Madiambal Diagne might have found a way around the Senegalese government's apparent determination to keep him away from the airwaves.

Q&A: “I Said to Myself, Why Not Create an NGO Focused on the Dignity of Women?”

Later this year, Salamatou Traoré - a leading health worker in Niger - will be awarded a five thousand dollar grant from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in recognition of her work to assist women who suffer from fistulas. She is one of three persons being honoured by the agency for their efforts to uplift women.

Q&A: “People Often Cannot Avoid Putting at Risk the Natural Resource Base Upon Which They Depend”

With the World Day to Combat Desertification set to take place shortly (Jun. 17), efforts are gearing up to highlight the threats posed by land degradation in much of Africa - as well as initiatives to safeguard against desertification.

G8: Cacophony on Global Warming

The summit of the heads of government of the eight most industrialised countries opened Wednesday in this Baltic seaside resort, surrounded by impressive security measures, and dominated by a total cacophony on the group's efforts to curb climate change.

G8: Poverty Reduction and Climate Change Inextricably Linked, Say Activists

In the final hours before this week's Group of Eight (G8) summit gets underway in Germany, activists have underscored the need for progress with both climate change and poverty alleviation - key items on the meeting's agenda - for there to be real improvement in Africa's living conditions.

SIERRA LEONE: Too Busy Surviving to Follow a Landmark Trial

It was Charles Taylor's money that allegedly bought guns for the rebel faction that fired the first shot of Sierra Leone's devastating civil war in 1991 - a conflict that claimed the life of Mustafa Mansaray's pregnant daughter.

POLITICS: Blair Bids Farewell to Africa

Opinions appear divided about outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair's legacy concerning Africa - this as the leader ended his last official visit to the continent Friday. The five-day trip took him to Libya, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

EDUCATION-AFRICA: Learning at the Flick of a Switch

The role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in improving education throughout Africa has been in the spotlight over recent days at the e-Learning Africa Conference.

BURKINA FASO: Giving Political Parties a Legal Nudge

Awareness raising alone hasn't managed to bring about sufficient change...Perhaps quotas are now required. That's the thinking behind a law that will be put before Burkina Faso's parliament later this year, in an effort to increase the number of women in decision-making posts in the West African country's government.

NIGERIA: Rights Activists Await Break With Past

The return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999 after years of military dictatorship has not brought an end to extra-judicial killings; rather, the number may have doubled in what is now often a daily occurrence, says the Civil Liberties Organisation - a human rights group based in the financial hub of Lagos.

TRADE-AFRICA: How to Turn The Curse of Oil Into a Blessing

Africa's abundance in natural resources, especially oil, has been called a curse because of the fierce global thirst that exists for these assets.

TRADE: Pending EU Agreements Put West Africa at Risk

The European Union and West Africa could scarcely be more different in terms of wealth, yet a pending trade agreement risks making the disparity even greater.

HEALTH-AFRICA: ”Brain Drain Is Killing People”

A shortage of health care workers is paralysing the health system in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa, and threatens the lives of millions, particularly in rural areas, warns Medecins Sans Frontieres, a global nongovernmental organisation specialising in medical services.

MAURITANIA: Taking the Weight of Tradition Off Women

Excess weight on women has long been considered something to aspire to in Mauritania, where it serves as a symbol of beauty and wealth. But, it appears these views are being called into question as awareness spreads of the health risks they entail for girls who are force fed to make them gain the desired weight.

ENVIRONMENT-AFRICA: Long Knives Out Over Elephants

Environmentalists are readying themselves for another heated round of debate and horse-trading in the continuing international tussle over the issue of ivory sales.

POLITICS-BENIN: A Drubbing in National Elections Turns Attention to Local Polls

Out of 250 candidates, just a handful triumphed: not an impressive track record by any measure. So, Benin's women are already looking ahead to the next election.

DEVELOPMENT: Keeping Civil Society on the Straight and Narrow

A few years ago, this IPS correspondent posed a question at a workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa, about whether non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should be held more accountable for their actions. Afterwards, the key speaker at the event pulled me aside, and issued a polite rebuke for my "dangerous question".

POLITICS-COTE D’IVOIRE: Battling Through the Details of a Peace Agreement

Signing a peace accord is one thing. Putting it into effect is quite another, as Ivorians are discovering.

Q&A: “We’re Living in a World of Global Economic Apartheid”

Less than a fortnight remains before the seventh annual World Assembly of CIVICUS - the World Alliance for Citizen Participation. This Johannesburg-based body brings together non-governmental organisations from across the spectrum to strengthen civil society, notably where its activities are under threat.