From 14-16 February 2011 the Right to Know, Right to Education project will host a regional conference to address the issues of quality basic education for all. The conference will provide a platform for regional bodies, academics, civil society organisations and international aid organisations to deliberate critical questions such as the role of international quality standards for Sub-Saharan African countries

West African ministers in charge of gender issues, as well as women organizations, have started a forum devoted to taking stock of the participation of women in the region in conflict prevention, peace-building and maintenance.

Liberia's government says the decision by a group of creditor nations to write off its debt will allow the country to write a "new Liberian story". The 19-nation Paris Club pardoned $1.2bn (£764m) worth of debt owed by the West African country. Liberia's Finance Minister, Augustine Ngafuan, told the BBC's Network Africa that debt servicing took up large amounts of its national budget.

Although there are signs of improvement in Niger, which is in the midst of a severe food crisis, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that child malnutrition rates are alarmingly high in neighbouring Chad.
“We’ve seen the positive impact of timely, well-coordinated food and nutrition assistance delivered in partnership with the Government in Niger,” where almost half of the 15-million strong population are hungry, said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. But in Chad, which experienced a long and crippling lean season, “children are weak and need to continue receiving food and nutritional support,” she stressed.

This year's rainy season in Mauritania damaged critical infrastructure and displaced hundreds of families, but it may have alleviated the threat of famine facing other countries in the Sahel. The considerable rainfall has led to widespread damage and cut the main routes linking the capital, Nouakchott, to the rest of the towns and cities in the country's interior.

The Centre for Rights Education and Awareness CREAW, and the Africa Community Development Media ACDM together with other partners have set up Safariafricaradio which is an online human rights radio station broadcasting online. This is in recognition of the need for a radical paradigm shift of the societal mindset that is anchored on core human rights values , democratic governance and developmental principles that shall drive the kind of change that Kenya needs to get it out of current challenges.

Following a joint statement with Human Rights Watch (HRW), calling for the decriminalisation of consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex, Alternatives Cameroon, a gay rights organisation, says it has now chosen to use revendication rather than a confrontational approach, since attitudes towards homosexuality issues seem to be slowly changing in the country.

As part of their work in Uganda, the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Women of Uganda Network made a call for proposals for projects that seek to address the intersection between violence against women and girls, and/or to stop violence against women and girls through the strategic use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) during the month of June 2010. Four (4) organisations have been selected as beneficiaries of the small grants and they include Uganda Women Media’s Association, Mahyoro Rural Information Centre and Hope Case Foundation and Isis WICCE. Implementation of the activities is expected to commence September 2010 to June 2011.

This week the coalition government that is currently running Zimbabwe reached two important milestones. Tuesday was the end of the 30 day deadline, suggested by South African President Zuma and facilitator of the Zimbabwe crisis, to resolve and implement 24 of the remaining problematic issues in the GPA. Wednesday ushered in the second anniversary of the signing of the Global Political Agreement that created the so-called ‘inclusive government’. A statement released late Wednesday by the MDC criticized what it called ZANU PF’s deliberate delaying of implementing the GPA.

Proponents of the local food movement like to talk about keeping “food miles” to a minimum. Buying a New Zealand apple in New England is a big no-no. Imagine if instead of stores buying fruit from the South Pacific, the government was buying land in South America to produce “our own” food. Yet that is what’s happening all over the world, as wealthy countries buy or lease large tracts of land in poorer countries for agricultural production and export.

The Open Society Institute works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. To achieve its mission, OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights. The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is pleased to announce an opening for the position of Executive Director.

This week, the Stephen Lewis Foundation launched the AfriGrand Caravan, a cross-country tour with young African women orphaned by AIDS and grandmothers faced with an orphan care crisis in AIDS-ravaged sub-Saharan Africa. The Caravan will travel to 40 communities, St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia, from September 7 to November 10, creating a forum for the women to tell their stories and engage thousands of Canadians in a meaningful dialogue about the grassroots response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has a mandate to work for the identification, prevention and reduction of statelessness worldwide as well as the protection of stateless persons. On the basis of this mandate, the UNHCR’s Regional Representation for Western Europe in Brussels plans to undertake an interdisciplinary research project covering the demographic, social and legal aspects of statelessness in Belgium. The goal is to provide an overview of the socio-demographic profile of stateless persons in Belgium and to examine the legal situation pertaining to such persons.

Malawi will not make it an official policy to promote and encourage circumcision among men as a way of preventing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, two government officials announced. 'We have no scientific evidence that circumcision is a sure way of slowing down the spread of AIDS,' said Dr. Mary Shaba, Principal Secretary for HIV and AIDS in the Office of the President and Cabinet.

Scientists in the UK say they have devised a new ultra-sensitive test which can diagnose the presence of the tuberculosis bacterium in one hour. The test has been developed by the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Its developers claim the test can spot all strains of the disease and could reduce both the incidence and the consequences of the disease worldwide.

The Beyond Juba Project proudly announces the sixteenth issue of PeaceTalk, a newsletter targeting Ugandan teenagers. Issue # 16 (Vol.3 Issue 4) will be published in the Monitor newspaper of Sunday, September 19, 2010, and will be uploaded onto our website on Monday, 20 September, 2010.

Namibia has called on the European Union (EU) to “take a step backwards from the current excessive demands in the economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations to allow Africa the policy space which it requires to advance its development”. Speaking at the Parliamentary High-level Conference on EU-Africa in Brussels, Peter Katjavivi, Swapo Chief Whip in the National Assembly (NA), on Wednesday called for greater understanding by the EU towards Africa, “as the consequences [of the EPA] will greatly affect Africa, far more than Europe”.

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the recording of “We are the World”, United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa), in collaboration with Trust Africa, Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Humanitarian Action and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) will host a symposium entitled:
“Reflections on International Humanitarian Interventions in Africa” from 21-23 September 2010 at the United Nations Conference Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Climate-smart, climate-resilient, climate-compatible development - call it what you will. These days, it's received wisdom in the aid sector that extreme weather and longer-term climate shifts are hitting the poor hard and things are likely to get worse as global warming heats up the planet. Many agencies now plan their work with at least an eye on the weather and climate hazards forecast for the coming months and years and how that could affect their programmes and the people they're helping. A growing number of projects aim to equip local communities with tools and knowledge to cope with increasingly adverse meteorological conditions.

More than a decade ago, cocoa producers in Sao Tome and Principe were suffering because of falling global prices for cocoa. Many of them abandoned their cocoa plantations, while others cut down the trees to clear land for maize or other crops. Thanks to IFAD and its partners, nearly 2,200 farmers are now growing cocoa certified as organic or fair-trade for the international chocolate industry.