Men Still Make the Decisions on Reproductive Rights in Côte d’Ivoire

"I would like to use contraception, but my husband is against it," says Bintou Moussa*. The 32-year-old mother has just given birth to her sixth child at the Abobo General Hospital in Cote d’Ivoire’s commercial capital Abidjan.

Struggling to Rebuild Côte d’Ivoire’s Health System

One-year-old Angama Ouattara lies on a rusted hospital bed, a drip attached to her tiny, left foot. Her mother, Minata, sits on the edge of the mattress, smoothing out the sheets she had to bring from home.

GUINEA: Working to Provide Water and Electricity For All

Guinea faces acute problems in the supply of clean water and electricity to its citizens, slowing the country's economic development. A major project to address this is now under way, but some Guineans are sceptical of its promises.

GUINEA: Working to Provide Water and Electricity For All

Guinea faces acute problems in the supply of clean water and electricity to its citizens, slowing the country's economic development. A major project to address this is now under way, but some Guineans are sceptical of its promises.

GHANA: Father’s Fight to Save Daughter from Genital Mutilation

When Jack Sabadgou left Ghana for Switzerland 10 years ago, he left his infant daughter behind to be raised by her mother. Now he wants his child back, and he is running out of time in a bid to save her from the banned traditional practice of female genital mutilation.

Africa’s Urban Slum Children Among Most Disadvantaged

Each day after school, nine-year-old Nelly Wangui hurries home with a bundle of firewood balanced on her head. The paper bag in which she carries her schoolbooks sits precariously on top of the stack and every now and then she reaches out to ensure that her books have not fallen down.

GHANA: Father’s Fight to Save Daughter from Genital Mutilation

When Jack Sabadgou left Ghana for Switzerland 10 years ago, he left his infant daughter behind to be raised by her mother. Now he wants his child back, and he is running out of time in a bid to save her from the banned traditional practice of female genital mutilation.

Africa’s Urban Slum Children Among Most Disadvantaged

Each day after school, nine-year-old Nelly Wangui hurries home with a bundle of firewood balanced on her head. The paper bag in which she carries her schoolbooks sits precariously on top of the stack and every now and then she reaches out to ensure that her books have not fallen down.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Illicit Timber Trade Exposes the North to Drought

Environmental groups in Côte d'Ivoire say the illegal logging and sale of wood from the African gum tree is exposing the north of the country to the encroaching desert. The NGOs are calling on the authorities to take firmer action against the illicit timber traders – who allegedly include government officials.

SENEGAL: Two Women Among 14 Candidates for President

There are two women among the 14 candidates contesting the first round of Senegalese presidential elections that will be held on Feb. 26. But according to several analysts, this overwhelmingly Muslim West African country is not ready to be governed by a woman.

“A Catastrophic Year” as Hunger Crisis Looms over Sahel

Seven out of the eight governments in the Sahel – the arid zone between the Sahara desert in North Africa and Sudan’s Savannas in the south – have taken the unprecedented step of declaring emergencies as 12 million people in the region are threatened by hunger.

HEALTH-BURKINA FASO: More Money Needed to Guarantee the Availability of ARVs

Burkina Faso's Network for Access to Essential Medicines (RAME) has called on the Burkinabè government to increase the budget allocation to the health sector to avoid interruptions to AIDS treatment.

GHANA: Need to Recognise Mental Illness as a Health Concern

The incessant buzzing of mosquitoes was the first sign that there was something wrong. While Bernard Akumiah could clearly hear the small insects, there were none within his vicinity.

MAURITANIA: Ravaged by Drought – the Number of Malnourished Children Rises

Mariem Mint Ahmedou sits cross-legged on a worn-out carpet in a basic tent built with mud bricks and layers of sewn-together fabric. Her eight-month-old twins, Hussein and Hassan, lie weakly against her body. Both of them have been malnourished since birth, because Beydar, undernourished herself, cannot produce enough breast milk to feed them.

MALI: Fifty Thousand Flee as Political Parties Call for Dialogue

Mali's political parties have jointly called on the government to hold a forum for peace and reconciliation as a way to end a Tuareg rebellion launched several weeks ago. The uprising has forced around 55,000 people out of their homes, the majority fleeing the fighting in the north of the country, but others are seeking shelter from ethnic tension and violent demonstrations in cities in the south.

Sierra Leone Drafts a Development Plan for the Next 50 Years

Fifty years ago when Sierra Leone gained independence after 150 years of colonial rule, with it came a feeling of optimism that along with a newfound control of its governance, the country would profit from its ample endowment of natural resources, like timber, fish, minerals and oil. Instead, in the last 50 years, the country has had 13 military coups and an 11-year civil war that left the economy in ruins and the country heavily reliant on foreign donor funding.

“Raining Bombs” Causing Hundreds to Flee Northern Nigeria

"I can no longer stay here in Kano as it rains bombs. The gun battles rattle us... Kano is no longer safe," said pregnant Funke Nweke of her decision to flee Nigeria’s northern state with her five-year-old daughter.

Cameroon’s Economy Suffers as Boko Haram Infiltrates Country

Ahmadou Lamine has been forced to close his business selling fuel imported from Nigeria, known locally as "zoa-zoa", because of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.

Senegalese Students Call for President to Step Down

The friends of slain Senegalese student protester, Mamadou Diop, say that the 32-year-old master’s student was against injustice and that is why he was protesting against President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid for a third term of office.

DEVELOPMENT-NIGER: Three Million Children Threatened by Hunger

Women have been left in charge of many of the households in the village of Zamkoye-Koïra, in western Niger, as food shortages have driven male family members to leave in search of work elsewhere. A national survey of vulnerable households shows that 5.4 million people face food insecurity across Niger.

WEST AFRICA: Water Shortage Threatens Wildlife

The story of a pair of buffalo aggressively prowling the edges of a village in eastern Burkina Faso is a warning sign of severe water stress in the region which threatens humans and wild animals alike.