This video records a day in the life of Bibi Aminajati Kalema at Hiari Orphanage located in Chang'ombe, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

In April 2008, the African Ministers of Health – in preparation for the Bamako Ministerial Forum on Research for Health – adopted the Algiers Declaration that expressed their commitment to reinforce national research systems for health. During the Bamako conference, health research leaders of western African countries, representatives of the West African Health Organization (WAHO) and international organisations discussed the status of research for health in West Africa.

Angola's ruling party will meet this week to examine a private report accusing members of the president's inner circle of corruption, a spokesman has said. The report, "The Angolan Presidency -- The Epicentre of Corruption", describes how people close to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos have taken control of the economy by securing stakes in firms in sectors ranging from oil to banking.

On a typically busy morning in North Kivu’s capital city Goma, nobody at the bank paid much attention to Bosco Ntaganda and his bodyguards. It had been a hectic few days for the rebel commander-turned-army general, who had also attended meetings with the provincial governor and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila.

A day after Kenyans voted to accept a new constitution, women across the country speak about their hopes and expectations.??The case of Elizabeth Chazima could stand for the story of millions of women in Kenya who have been robbed of their financial contributions to matrimonial assets. Speaking from her modest grocery store in Jericho Estate, Nairobi, Chazima recounts how in the early 1990s, her husband sold the house they had bought together without her knowledge.

ASSOCHAM, India’s apex industry body, has sent a proposal to the external affairs ministry to consider tapping the emerging agricultural opportunities in Africa and offering to act as a facilitator to help Indian farmers reap the benefits of the huge potential that lie in Africa. “Hoping to address the huge issue of food shortage, these countries have begun inviting overseas farmers to come and cultivate their lands. These governments are willing to lease land free of cost for 99 years”, ASSOCHAM secretary general DS Rawat said.

The African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) has started a new Journal called The Africa Women’s journal. The Journal is bi-annual publication with current issues and statistics on women’s development issues in Africa. We invite contributors to send well researched and analytical articles on the theme: The African Women’s Decade (2010-2020): A Decade of Triumph for African Women. The article must have current statistics with clear referencing.

The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program is an international exchange program that offers practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world the opportunity to spend five months at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), in Washington DC, in order to undertake independent research on democracy in a particular country or region. While in residence, fellows reflect on their experiences; engage with counterparts; conduct research and writing; consider best practices and lessons learned; and develop professional relationships within a global network of democracy advocates.

Subsidies for agriculture in the industrialised countries of the world grew again in 2009, benefiting the largest companies and land owners, such as Prince Albert of Monaco and Queen Elizabeth of Britain. The latest increase came despite repeated and consistent evidence that such subsidies contribute to the destruction of the livelihoods of poor farmers in developing countries, especially in Africa, and that they distort international trade.

Apeda has received an intimation from the Embassy of India in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about investment opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs. DRC has 80 million hectares of rich arable soil with water resources and 1000 mm of annual rainfall. Maniac, maize, rice, groundnut, sugarcane, corn, sweet potatoes, bananas, yams, pineapples are the principal crops produced.

This Women’s Day the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP) would like to commemorate not only the women's march to the Union Buildings on the 9th of August but also the consistent and varied struggles that women in this country have fought. Women in South Africa have asserted their independence and challenged racism and patriarchy in many ways that are often forgotten or ignored. For example it was black women, often single, who fought against imposed municipal beer halls and led struggles in the locations. Between 1920 and 1950 it was women who formed the core of the most successful unions and often served as their leadership. This history for survival and independence in addition to the protests around passes being extended to black women are only snippets of consistent and varied struggles.

This social experiment was carried out using hidden cameras in a townhouse complex in Johannesburg. Don't condone violence by doing nothing. If you or anyone around you is experiencing domestic abuse please call the POWA helpline on 083 765 1235 or visit Counseling services and support is available.

Pambazuka News is taking an extended break for the next three weeks (from 16 August to 5 September). This is to allow staff to focus attention on the development of the new Pambazuka News website, which we hope to launch later this year. The next issue of the English edition of Pambazuka News will therefore be published on 9 September, while the French edition will appear on 6 September. We thank you for your patience.

As African leaders prepare to meet at the SADC Summit in Windhoek this month from 15 to 17, they must draw concrete plans to prevent state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe’s elections planned for 2011. Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition calls upon SADC and AU leaders, as guarantors of Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement (GPA), which created a transitional power-sharing government to, among other things, ensure that Zimbabwe fully complies with SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections – including impartiality of electoral institutions.

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President Paul Kagame, who has ruled post-genocide “new Rwanda” with an iron fist for 16 years, is almost guaranteed of victory on August 9 after a campaign that saw increased repression of the opposition. The lanky 52-year-old, who has presided over the destiny of the small central African nation since he ended the 1994 genocide against his Tutsi minority, will seek the endorsement of a five-million-strong electorate.

US officials have charged 14 people with providing money, personnel and services to the Somali militant group al-Shabab. The charges stem from four separate indictments in the US states of Minnesota, Alabama and California. Concerns about al-Shabab have grown after the group carried out a bomb attack in Uganda.

Human Rights Watch announced Hellman/Hammett grants for 42 writers from 20 countries in recognition of their commitment to free expression and courage in the face of political persecution. All are writers whose work and activism have been suppressed by their governments. Beyond their own experiences, they represent numerous other writers and journalists whose personal and professional lives have been disrupted as a result of repressive government policies that aim to control speech and publications.

Civilians, especially women, tend to bear the brunt of armed conflicts across the world, particularly in Somalia, where Islamist insurgents are fighting a weak government propped up by African Union forces. Several women in Mogadishu told IRIN about the day-to-day reality of living in a warzone.

United Nations officials in Liberia have welcomed the launch of a new national strategy to combat HIV/AIDS, stressing the importance of tackling the disease before infection rates become high in the West African country. Liberia’s National AIDS Commission yesterday launched a strategic framework for 2010 to 2014 in the capital, Monrovia, with the target of containing the spread of HIV at its current rate of 1.5 per cent among the general population.