Congo-Kinshasa: Rape, Sexual Violence Targets Women Across the DRC

Rape and other forms of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are not limited to the war zones in the eastern parts of the country - women detained miles away… Read more »

Africa: 'No Excuse' for Newborn Death Rate

A series of papers published on Tuesday is laying the ground for concerted international action to reduce deaths among newborn babies - which reach their highest levels in… Read more »

Africa: 'We Can Save Newborns' - Melinda Gates

Amid a renewed push by a coalition of organizations to reduce high death rates among newborns, the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation answered questions from… Read more »

South Africa: City Women Generate Food & Income on Tiny Urban Plots

"It's a lot of work", says Mama Lulama Jim as she takes respite from the wind in a makeshift container kitchen. She pauses to study her notes made during an early morning… Read more »

Nigeria: Women's Group Receives Major U.S. Award

A Nigerian organization dedicated to promoting the rights of women in the country's legal systems has received a major award from an American foundation for its "outsized impact"… Read more »

Morocco: Parliament Repeals Controversial Rape Law

The Moroccan parliament has amended a controversial law that allowed a rapist to marry his underage victim in order to escape prosecution, according to Al Jazeera. The vote to… Read more »

Africa: Empowering Women Builds Better Futures

Melinda Gates says everyone wins - and lives are saved - when teenage girls are in school rather than having babies. Excerpted from the 2014 Gates annual letter, published by the… Read more »

Central African Republic: Seleka Soldiers Raped Women, Girls in Bangui - Report

An excerpt from the Amnesty International report, "CAR: Human rights crisis spiralling out of control": Read more »

Africa: Ethiopia Proclaims Right to Family Planning

"Unmet need", in the context of family planning, is a rather mundane term that masks an urgent social justice and human rights issue. An estimated 220 million women in the world… Read more »

Africa: Survey Reveals Africa's Top Promoters of Gender Equality

Rwanda is Africa's top-performing advocate of gender equality, followed by the Seychelles, Mozambique, South Africa and Botswana. Read more »

Africa: Africa Loses As Women Farmers Are Marginalised

The “enormous potential” of small-scale farming to reduce poverty in Africa is not being realised mainly because rural women are neither recognised nor supported enough… Read more »

Ghana: Inspiring Rural Communities Through Technology

In Ghana most girls are expected to go to a decent school, find a well-paying job, then seek out a husband - not many women pursue careers in male-dominated fields like computer… Read more »

Kenya: Increasing Access to Family Planning in Informal Settlements

Kenya's infant mortality shows the fastest rate of decline among the 20 countries in sub-Sahara Africa, according to the World Bank. Among the possible reasons for this decline are… Read more »

Tanzania: Improving Access to Health Care for Women and Children

Women in Tanzania face challenges accessing adequate and proper health care services, partly as a result of inadequate funding for healthcare facilities and limited access to… Read more »

Africa: Democracy, Transparency Are Not 'Western Exports' - Obama

An excerpt from President Obama's speech at the University of Cape Town: Read more »

Africa: An Africa Fit for Women and Girls

I believe in an Africa that is fit for women and girls; that protects their well-being and creates a supportive environment for them to realise their aspirations. As I look at the… Read more »

Africa: Hope for Ending 'Unrelenting' Cycle of Malnutrition, Poverty

Gently laying three-month-old Benjamin on a board to measure his length, Elizabeth Mumo, 28, is grateful for the weekend clinics in a makeshift health facility, run by a retired… Read more »

Africa: 'Magnificent Strides' Against Malnutrition

The governments of the UK and Brazil, and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), will co-host a high-level international meeting, Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger… Read more »

Africa: Lancet Highlights Importance of Maternal, Child Nutrition

A new Lancet series on maternal and child nutrition examines the problems associated with undernutrition and successful interventions. A similar report released by Lancet in 2008… Read more »

Africa: Bold Goals, Measurement Needed for Progress Against Poverty

With the expiration of the initiative still more than a year away, there is planning underway to move beyond the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) aimed at… Read more »

Africa: 'It's the Turn of the African Woman'

Toyin Ojora-Saraki, founder and president of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, a maternal, newborn and child health and empowerment organization, has dedicated more than 20 years to… Read more »

Africa: Investing in Africa's Women

Invest and empower other women on the continent. This is the key message that came from former South African first lady and head of the Graca Machel Foundation, Graca Machel. Her… Read more »

Africa: Mastectomy Disclosure by Angelina Jolie May Help Reduce Stigma in Africa

In disclosing in the New York Times on Tuesday that she underwent a double mastectomy, actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie also called attention to the many women in Africa and… Read more »

Rwanda: UN Security Council Presidency an 'Eye-opener' - Foreign Minister

The government of Rwanda is completing a busy month at the helm of the United Nations Security Council, a task that rotates among members - both the five nations with permanent… Read more »

Africa: Closing the Gap - Meet Aims to End Extreme Poverty

When 17-year-old Sona Traore represented the Child Protection Network of Liberia at a civil society event organized in conjunction with a three-day United Nations meeting in this… Read more »