Kenya: Breaking Toilet Taboos

Among members of the Mijikenda community of Kenya's Coastal Province, it is taboo for a father-in-law's faeces to mix with those of his daughter-in-law. Read more »

Kenya: Nation Setting Sights on Eliminating Blinding Disease

Had a community health worker not found him at the rural Kenyan village of Olenarau, 65-year-old Tonke Nalakiti would still be blaming his failing sight on old age. Read more »

Uganda: Bishop Calls for Tolerance of Gays, Lesbians

Bishop Christopher Senyonjo is an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights at a time when Uganda's Parliament has reopened discussion on a bill which would… Read more »

Africa: Celebrating Democracy and the Youth Revolution in Tunis

The Palais des Sports d'el Menzah was the venue Friday night for a form of exercise rarely practiced there: dancing. Read more »

Africa: Remembering Howard Wolpe, the Tireless Peacemaker

I have known Howard Wolpe for over 30 years. When he took over as Chairman of the Africa Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1981, I had… Read more »

Africa: Simple Steps Can Curb Childhood Deaths

Although she is five years old, Rose Nduta is about the same height as a 20-month-old toddler. Pale, spindly-limbed and severely underweight, the Kenyan girl suffers from chronic… Read more »

Kenya: Social Media Leapfrogs Drought-Hit Nation into a New Generational Order

Defying elders who flatly reject western culture, youth in northeastern Kenya are resisting efforts by spiritual leaders to ban social media. Read more »

Sudan: Harvard Team Refutes Critique of Report on Mass Killings

Following is the text of an October 6 letter to Dr. Andrew Natsios from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Natsios, who served as U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan from October 2006 to… Read more »

Kenya: Tree Planting, Forest Queens Highlight Wangari Maathai's Legacy

"Just look at that hillside over there," Mary Kiptanui said pointing at a green hillside sparsely scattered with trees. "That used to be covered, a forest, and now there's hardly a… Read more »

Libya: Burkina Faso and Niger Back Gaddafi's Victims

There is good news in the world of international justice: Burkina Faso and Niger have said unequivocally that they will not give safe haven to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi… Read more »

Kenya: Clean Water as a Life Force

The streets of Gatwekera village in Nairobi's Kibera slum throng with people on a recent Sunday afternoon. Small shops and kiosks line the dirt paths separating brightly colored… Read more »

Somalia: Let Somalis Manage Aid for Development, Doctor Says

Dr. Hawa Abdi is a woman of many firsts, including being Somalia's first female gynecologist and establishing one of the country's first NGOs. Along with her daughters, Deqa and… Read more »

Sudan: Obama Names Two Experienced Diplomats to Team As Problems Mount

President Barack Obama has tapped two experienced U.S. diplomats to represent him in Khartoum and Juba as tensions grow between Sudan and South Sudan. Read more »

South Sudan: New Govt Must Prepare for Scrutiny - U.S. Activist

In the Republic of South Sudan, partition has created both opportunities and obstacles. Against a backdrop of regional and ethnic tensions, reports of human rights abuses continue… Read more »

Africa: Continent's New Middle Class Lures Investment

For too long, the story of Africa has been about government corruption, war and disease. Economic news was also bad. From 1975 to 1995, the continent was mired in negative growth,… Read more »

South Sudan: Challenges, Not Problems, Guide Health Sector Transformation

As the parties celebrating independence across South Sudan die down, and the euphoria begins to wear off, the reality of governing the world's newest country begins to set in. Read more »

Africa: Ugandan Youth Advocate Spreads Message of Self-Care

Jackie Kemigisha, an HIV-positive youth advocate from Uganda, dedicates her life to empowering those affected by HIV/Aids. After she learned of her HIV-postive status, Kemigisha… Read more »

Africa: Leapfrogging to the 'Mobile Phone' of Sanitation

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been a major role-player at AfricaSan 3 in Rwanda, using the gathering to announce its new sanitation-focused global development… Read more »

Africa: AfricaSan3 - Less About Goals Than Getting There

The 3rd African Conference on Sanitation Hygiene is set for 19-21 July in Kigali, Rwanda. AllAfrica's Julie Frederikse looks at what to expect from this important event. Read more »

South Africa: Award-Winning Sanitation Team Keen to Link to Fellow African Researchers

Chris Buckley, head of the Pollution Research Group at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, spoke to Julie Frederikse about the upcoming sanitation conference… Read more »

South Africa: Turning Human Waste into Fertilizer Pellet by Pellet

Recycling is increasingly popular in today's ecologically aware world, but in the field of sanitation the "yuk factor" tends to get in the way. Most people recoil from the notion… Read more »

Tanzania: Young Chemist Seeks Answers in Traditional Medicine

When Justin Omolo was growing up in Tanzania, he preferred Western medical clinics to African traditional healers. "I was the only one in my family who didn't believe in all the… Read more »

Somalia: Al Shabaab Suspect Faces Charges in U.S.

A 25-year-old Somali man accused by the United States of being a leader of the Al Shabaab militia has been flown to New York for trial after being held by the U.S. Navy for… Read more »

Somalia: United States Using Drone Planes to Attack Al-Shabaab Militia

The United States is using its pilotless drone aircraft to launch military attacks on leaders of the Somali militant group, Al Shabaab, the Washington Post reported Thursday. Read more »

Africa: Country-Led Development Improves Health

Delegates from four African health ministries taking part in this month's 38th Annual International Conference on Global Health described how leadership and country-led development… Read more »