December 2, 2010

• Egypt: No Sex Education Please, We're Arab

  Civil society has warned of adverse social and health consequences after the Egyptian government ordered the removal of content related to male and female anatomy, reproductive... Read more »

• Kenya: A Brand New Constitution, But Can Women Enjoy Land Rights?

  Mary Kimani wishes her husband were still alive. Holding her one-year-old son in one hand and a hoe in the other, she recounts with bitterness how she and her children lost their... Read more »

• Zambia: Govt Must Fulfill Promises to Children Living With Aids

  Less than one in four Zambian children who should be on life-saving anti-retroviral drugs is receiving them. The country planned to increase the number of children on ARVs from the... Read more »

• Madagascar: New Livelihoods to Protect a River's Life

  The Nosivolo River has the greatest concentration of freshwater fish species in Madagascar. Strengthening protection of the river's biodiversity has involved transforming the... Read more »

• Malawi: Traditional Birthing House Rises From the Rubble [opinion]

  Cecilia Tomoka's birthing centre stood unused for three years before a 2009 earthquake flattened it. Now she's rebuilding the house - and her practice - as Malawi's government... Read more »

• Senegal: Slowly Winning Fight Against FGM in the North

  The harm done by female genital mutilation is still enormous in Podor, a city in the north of Senegal, say officials at the local hospital. While the practice is declining... Read more »

• Senegal: Govt Debates Merits of Ban on Begging

  The face of the Senegalese capital has been transformed. The beggars who swarmed along its major arteries, especially in the centre of the city, its biggest markets and... Read more »

• Africa: U.S. and EU Subsidies Still Out of Bounds

  The United States' policy to double agricultural exports shows that its government "has learnt nothing" from the last food crisis, a problem reflected in the dramatic increase in... Read more »

• Malawi: Promise of Elbow Room for Students

  The announcement that 5,000 new classrooms will be built thanks to a $140 million World Bank loan would come as welcome news at the Chitowo Primary School - if only the children... Read more »

• Africa: Economic Boom Worsened De-Industrialisation of LDCs

  Least developed countries (LDCs) in Africa did not use the commodity export boom of the mid-2000s to diversify their economies from commodity dependence to manufacturing... Read more »

• Southern Africa: Watchful Eye on Deadly Stock Disease

  Government spokesperson Dr Mohamed Bakari says Tanzania has contained an epidemic of viral disease that had affected the northern part of the country, mainly around Arusha, since... Read more »

• Zambia: Drugs Kit Helps Mothers Protect Babies

  A thousand babies are infected with HIV every day - in pregnancy, during birth and through breastfeeding. Close to 400,000 African children are infected with HIV every year. Read more »

• Africa: Despite Setbacks, the Region Seen as Key Player in Future

  As the international community commemorated Africa Industrialisation Day last week, United Nations officials expressed mixed emotions about a beleaguered continent plagued by a... Read more »

• Egypt: Rights - Getting Harassment on the Map [opinion]

  Less common but perhaps more useful than the tourist map is the 'harassment map' that many Cairo women are beginning to refer to. Read more »

• Mozambique: Controversial Bypass Under Way at Smelter

  Aluminium giant BHP Billiton's Mozal smelter has begun bypassing its fume treatment centres, emitting potentially dangerous fumes into the air without treating them first - despite... Read more »

• Zimbabwe: Gender-Based Violence - 'Police Officers Forget Themselves' [opinion]

  Tasha Ncube* has no kind words for the police. Early last month, the 31-year-old mother of two was beaten several times by her husband over what she says were small arguments. This... Read more »

• Egypt: Ruling Party Delivers More Disappointment [analysis]

  The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) of President Hosni Mubarak promised a "new style of thinking" at its fifth annual party congress last week, but critics in the opposition... Read more »

• Africa: Food Versus Biofuels Debate Continues

  "We're going to Cancún no better off than we were in Copenhagen," said Thuli Makama, the director of Friends of the Earth Swaziland, as she prepared to leave for the climate... Read more »