What can be done to ensure that the poorest Africans have access to a healthcare system that charges user fees? Many options have been proposed to address this situation, but currently the decision-makers involved have little or no access to these. To support them in their reflection, a team of researchers from the University of Montreal, with support from the international NGO HELP (Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe e.V.), has produced a thorough compilation of all existing knowledge on this subject, in four bilingual policy briefs.

Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar has declined an offer by Madrid to grant her refugee status following her expulsion from the territory by Morocco, a representative said Saturday. Jose Morales Brum, a trade union leader in Spain's Canary Islands, said that Haidar, a winner of several human rights awards, was continuing the hunger strike she began at midnight on Sunday.

Gender Links has urged Southern African governments to put prevention at the centre of national action plans to end gender violence during the Sixteen Days of Activism on Gender Violence. It has also called on governments to ensure that these plans include comprehensive legislation and services, harness the energies of all sectors of society, are based on baseline surveys with measurable indicators and are adequately funded.

In this week’s [mp3], South African domestic workers get wage increase, Mozambican unions decry paltry fine for workers’ deaths, and Zimbabwe’s unions demand parliamentary inquiry into worker shootings. This bulletin is part of a partnership between Worker’s World Media Productions and Pambazuka News that seeks to highlight labour issues affecting Africa’s workers.

A new book published by Jacana Media takes the reader on a journey into the many worlds inhabited by transgender South Africans. The life stories recounted in this collection are both inspiring and compelling and reveal the courage and strength of each of the story tellers involved. The narratives detail the constant challenges of living in a country, that, despite its progressive constitution, is still host to myriad prejudices and misunderstandings when it comes to trans people.

Survivors Connect is a collaborative project to build global advocacy & support networks of survivors and activists working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Survivors Connect uses innovative instruments such as social media, new technologies and other interactive media to empower and enhance protection, prosecution and prevention efforts.

The FitzGerald Prize is a scholarship set up by Reuters outgoing Board to honour Niall FitzGerald, its Chairman, and now Deputy Chairman of Thomson Reuters. Niall has a long-standing interest in Africa, having served as CEO of Unilever’s foods business in South Africa in the early 1980s. He also co-chairs the Investment Climate Facility for Africa

The Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) research network announces a call for proposals for its 2010 competition for research grants with a total vlaue of up to $CAN 50,000 each.

Universtiy of Johannesburg’s Professor Peter Alexander has been awarded the South African Research Chair in Social Change (funded by the Department of Science and Technology and administered by the National Research Foundation). This prestigious chair will enable him to support: three post-doctoral fellows, three doctoral students, three masters students and two honours students. Applications are invited for all of these positions.

International Center for Policy and Conflict express concern on the deepen crisis in Kenya of human rights defenders and victims of post-election violence threats and intimidation. This is unacceptable and in contradiction of all human rights instruments ratified by Kenya.

In recent years, powerful and rich middle-east and Asian countries have been on a quest for the ultimate ‘breadbasket’ of grains to feed their growing population and to combat rising food prices. These powerful and rich Asian countries have gone to poor African countries, such as Ethiopia, with corrupt governments to grab farmland for the purpose of growing grains there, and then exporting them to feed their own people.

Alyxandra Gomes Nunes

Suely Aldir Masseder

Elisabete Figueroa Santos e Scopinho, R. A

Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), a UK-registered refugee rights organization assisting refugees who seek asylum in Egypt, is seeking a dynamic team-builder with a background in social or community health work to serve as Psychosocial Team Leader. AMERA requires an intelligent, hard-working person with a commitment to service for vulnerable people, and an interest in finding innovative ways to integrate psychosocial, community and legal aid approached to improving refugees’ access to human rights.

Women are the backbone of Africa. They have never known life to be different, accustomed throughout the ages to a responsibility, that they must cope with the problems of daily life and their families’ struggle for survival. The international community must find a way to make a crucial difference. This includes awarding the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 to the African Woman so that her daily struggle might be better publicized, appreciated and held as an example to facilitate human growth in Africa and the world.

From November 27 to December 3, the international peasant movement La Via Campesina and Uniterre will gather for the 7th Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva. Thirty delegates from Africa, Asia and Europe will be present to remind ministers of their responsibilities in the current food, financial, economic and climate crises.

RealClimate is a commentary site on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists. We aim to provide a quick response to developing stories and provide the context sometimes missing in mainstream commentary. The discussion here is restricted to scientific topics and will not get involved in any political or economic implications of the science. All posts are signed by the author(s), except ‘group’ posts which are collective efforts from the whole team. This is a moderated forum.

The Durban International Film Festival's 31 st edition will take place from 22 July to 1 August 2010 and will present over 200 screenings of films from around the world, with a focus on films from South Africa and Africa. Screenings will take place throughout Durban including township areas where cinemas are non-existent.

Morocco has the resources to press ahead with farm sector reform, even if many foreign investors are unwilling to commit for now, industry officials said. Foreign investment in the north African country had fallen by a third in September compared to a year earlier, according to government figures, as the global banking crisis made investors loath to venture into new markets,

Demba Moussa Dembélé

Société civile du Bénin

The number of people in Africa has passed the one billion mark, the UN Population Fund says in a report. UNPF's Executive Director Thoraya Obeid said that the annual figures showed the continent's population had doubled in the last 27 years.