May 14, 2023
Africa: Acute Hunger an 'Immediate Threat' to Over a Quarter of a Billion People
While King Charles III's coronation in Britain was hogging much of the international media's attention at the start of this month, it was easy not to notice another story that… Read more »
Africa: Social Media Mobile Phone Data in Disaster Management and Implications For Vulnerable Populations
By Hannah Tuckman with the UNC Water Institute and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Belmont Forum funded project Read more »
May 12, 2023
Morocco: A Short Tale of a Tree and a Moroccan Wedding Party
A much needed break amidst so many alarming news, with a brief story of a tree, a bottle of liquid gold, and a wedding gift. Read more »
Sudan: Violence Knows No Borders
Events in Sudan have been a constant topic of conversation in Cairo's coffee houses since the violence erupted there four weeks ago. The images of almost 30 Egyptian soldiers… Read more »
Africa: USAID Offers Protection to Journalists & NGOs Facing Defamation Lawsuits
The world's news media -- both under authoritarian regimes and democratic governments- continue to come under relentless attacks and political harassment. Read more »
May 11, 2023
South Africa: Finding Ways to Feed South Africa's Vast Hungry Population
In the deep rural village of Jekezi in South Africa's Eastern Cape, most young and able-bodied people have fled the area, leaving behind people with disabilities, the elderly, and… Read more »
May 10, 2023
Zimbabwe: Amid Power Cuts in Zimbabwe, Food Preservation Made Easy By Elderly Women
Amid silent refrigerators spawned by crippling electricity cuts, township grannies are relying on their smarts and traditional preservation: roasting and smoking meat over fires as… Read more »
May 09, 2023
Kenya: Climate Change Threatens Historical Sites in Coastal Region
Along coastal Kenya, historical sites and monuments are threatened due to the impacts of climate change--structures along the Indian Ocean are falling to ruin or collapsing into… Read more »
May 08, 2023
Africa: New Mosquito Species Could Derail Fight Against Malaria
'Urban' Kenya has been alerted because new mosquito species, Anopheles stephensi, threatens to derail decades of effort made in the fight against malaria. Read more »
Africa: Can African Farmers Still Feed the World?
Less than a decade ago, Africa was home to 60-65% of the world's uncultivated arable land and 10% of renewable freshwater resources, as reported by the African Union in 2016, while… Read more »
Sudan: The Privilege of Making a Choice
A civilian student named Saber was caught in the crossfire in Khartoum. He had two choices: either flee and lose everything; or die. But within a moment his option to choose was… Read more »
Africa: Can a Pledge to End TB Stick This Time Around?
This week, the United Nations will host two days (May 8-9) of preliminary talks to plan a larger conference on tuberculosis (TB) in September. These preliminary talks will be held… Read more »
May 05, 2023
Africa: Charles Can Help Undo a Colonial Crime
Clive Baldwin is the London-based senior legal advisor at Human Rights Watch and lead author of the Human Rights Watch report on UK and US colonial crimes against the Chagossians Read more »
Africa: Reshaping Multilateralism in Times of Crises
The world is in permanent crisis mode. In addition to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,… Read more »
May 04, 2023
Africa: Of Africa and the Magic Formula of the Italian Taxi Driver
Some days ago in Rome, the Italian taxi driver switched on the radio during a longish ride through the usual traffic jam. Music, gossip, and the hourly news bulletin. All of a… Read more »
Sudan: In Sudanese Conflict, Either You Lose Everything, or You Die
On the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, Sabre Nasr, a young Egyptian man of 20, developed a fever. Read more »
May 03, 2023
Africa: Drone Journalism Holds Great Potential to Improve Safety of Journalists in Africa's Volatile Situations
In a departure from the past, where journalists in Kenya have freely covered anti-government protests unharmed, a series of events that unfolded in March 2023 have heightened fears… Read more »
Africa: To Confront Our Current Crises, It's Time to Put Our Money Where Our Mouth Is
The finance sector's role in the current global crises - notably climate, biodiversity, and food security - is significant. Read more »
May 02, 2023
South Africa: Safeguarding the Future of Independent Media and Our Democracies
There's a now familiar groan every time the lights go out in South Africa. Due to a critical shortage of electricity, the national power utility institutes a daily regimen of… Read more »
May 01, 2023
Africa: UN Plan of Action On Safety of Journalists
Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of democratic society. Without a debate of ideas, without verified facts, without diversity of perspectives, democracy is a shadow of… Read more »
Africa: A Proposal for a UN Freedom of Information Act Never Got Off the Ground
The United Nations has consistently been a vociferous advocate of freedom of the press - and, most importantly, the right of journalists to report without fear of reprisals. Read more »
Africa: Empowering Women Is Key to Breaking the Devastating Cycle of Poverty & Food Insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa
Studies consistently show that women have lower rates of agricultural productivity compared to men in the region, but it's not because they're less efficient farmers. Read more »
April 30, 2023
Africa: Media Freedom Is Vital but Have We Passed Peak Press?
Peak oil was first up, followed by peak gas, gold and others, as if the world was draining natural resources like toilet roll panic buying in a lockdown supermarket. But should we… Read more »
April 27, 2023
Africa: Rising to the Challenge - the UN Road Safety Fund in a Polycrises World
Nneka Henry is Head of UN Road Safety Fund Read more »
Africa: 'Defending Human Rights Is a Crime in Some Countries and a Deadly Activity in Others'
By Bibbi Abruzzini and Clarisse Sih, Forus Read more »