AlertNet (London)

AlertNet is a humanitarian news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation covering crises worldwide.

July 22

West Africa: Volta River Basin Needs New Water Strategy - Study

New water management strategies will be needed to ensure sufficient water supplies in West Africa's Volta River Basin, a region likely to be hard hit by climate change, researchers... Read more »
Africa: Thirty Million Girls At Risk of FGM Despite Decline in Support - UN

Thirty million girls are at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the next decade, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF warned on Monday as it launched the first comprehensive... Read more »
Africa: How Prevalent Is FGM?

More than 125 million girls and women have undergone some form of female genital mutilation (FGM) in 29 countries across Africa and the Middle East, according to a major UNICEF... Read more »
Chad: Country Faces Severe Hunger Crisis With Girls Under Age Five Particularly At Risk [press release]

Malnutrition rates in southern Chad are reaching critical levels, according to International Medical Corps' assessments in the region. In Aboudeia health district nearly ten... Read more »

West Africa: Region Acts to Protect Forests, Shipping

West and Central African leaders are to put in place a joint security force with the aim of better protecting the Congo Basin's forest resources and combating pirate attacks in the... Read more »

Kenya: Boma Project Granted Millions to Educate and Support Women Entrepreneurs [press release]

The BOMA Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit that trains and mentors women in running small businesses in Northern Kenya, announced a U.S.$1.9 million dollar grant today from the... Read more »
Mali: Top Presidential Candidates Sign Climate Pledge

The two leading candidates to become Mali's next president have signed an agreement to prioritise addressing the social and environmental problems caused by climate change if they... Read more »
Tanzania: Farmers Protest Biofuel Investment

Ali Shaaban was not entirely surprised to see a huge poster erected on his farm warning him not to carry out any agricultural activities in the area. Read more »

Africa: Land 'Grab' Realities, Perceptions Vary Markedly - Researcher

Large-scale land deals in Africa should be cause for concern, but whether they're good or bad is not a black-and-white issue - and much of what we think we know about them is... Read more »
Burkina Faso: Improve the Situation of Young Girl Domestic Servants [press release]

In Burkina Faso, thousands of young girls leave their home villages to seek employment as a domestic servant with a family in the city. In many cases these girls are still... Read more »
South Africa: Electricity Company Adds Renewables Into Coal-Heavy Mix

South Africans have traditionally relied upon their plentiful coal reserves to supply over 90 percent of their electricity needs. Only in the past decade has national energy policy... Read more »
Uganda: Rapid Response to New Refugee Crisis in Uganda [press release]

In less than a week 66,000 refugees have fled fighting in DR Congo to seek shelter in Uganda. The urgent needs are immense but funding is lacking. The Danish Refugee Council has... Read more »
Kenya: Men Panic Over Rights for Women in Marriage Bill

A Marriage Bill which seeks to unify Kenya's various marriage-related laws and customs and strengthen women's rights in marriage was introduced to parliament on Tuesday and caused... Read more »

Kenya: Young Farmers Turn to Social Media to Adapt to Climate Change

Julius Cheruiyot has been a farmer since he was 16 years old. Forced to drop out of school because his family was unable to pay the fees, he went to work on his father's farm in... Read more »

Mali: IMF Queries Demotion of Finance Minister

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has questioned the demotion of Mali's finance minister just one month before the West African country holds presidential elections, a leaked... Read more »
Kenya: Adaptation Decision-Making Shifts to Locals

A new series of pilot projects in Northern Kenya will place greater decision-making powers about climate change adaptation into the hands of community members - a move backers hope... Read more »
Zimbabwe: Will 'Watershed' Elections Be Free, Fair and Peaceful? [interview]

In less than three weeks, Zimbabweans will go to the polls for the first time since a violent, disputed vote in 2008 forced President Robert Mugabe to form a coalition with his... Read more »
Kenya: Maasai Herders Train As Solar Technicians

Until recently, the Maasai youth in Kenya's southern region saw only one occupation in their future: cattle keeping. It's what generations of their tribesmen had done before them... Read more »
Kenya: Maternal Death Rate May Fall Thanks to Free Services for Women

Kenya's dire maternal death rate may finally fall thanks to the introduction last month of free maternity services for women, with some hospitals reporting a 50 percent increase in... Read more »

Kenya: Most Kenyan Midwives Diagnose Correctly but Less Than a Third Treat - Survey

In Kenya, 82 percent of midwives correctly diagnose their patient's condition but only 28 percent give the full treatment required, the World Bank said on Friday, highlighting the... Read more »
Africa: Teachers Working in Conflict Zones Urge the EU to Prioritise Education [press release]

On Malala's birthday, 419 teachers in DR Congo and Ethiopia ask that European Commission President Barroso work to ensure that children whose lives are affected by conflict are not... Read more »

Africa: Abortion Treaty Sparks Debate in Africa [interview]

The Maputo Protocol, which marks its 10th anniversary on July 11, has attracted controversy for its provision authorising "medicalised abortion" for women who have been raped or... Read more »
Tunisia: New Constitution Nearly Complete

The process of drafting Tunisia's new constitution is nearing its end and the North African country hopes to have it in place by the autumn, a Tunisian politician said. Read more »

Africa: Oxfam-Led Campaign Urges African States to Spend More On Agriculture [analysis]

Ten years after African leaders promised to spend at least 10 percent of their national budgets on agriculture, development and farmers' groups have called on African governments... Read more »

Zambia: Farmers to Get SMS Climate Advice

Farmers living in western Zambia's Zambezi valley have struggled with high temperatures, recurring droughts and unexpected floods for over a decade now. Read more »

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