If Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill becomes law, it will be little short of state-sponsored "genocide" against the gay community. So, the ambassadorial appointment of Jon Qwelane, well-know for his homophobic and derogatory statements against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and intersex (LGBTI) community, was a shock to human rights and gay activists.

Indigenous Fisher Peoples Network (IFP) with support of Minority Rights Group International (MRGI) will from January 2010 implement a 3 year EU funded Investing in People - Access to local culture, protection and promotion of cultural diversity project in Kenya. The Artistic Director will have the overall responsibility for the management of the drama production process. S/He will report to, and work very closely with the Governance Programme Officer at IFP, who will be in charge of project implementation. Deadline for submissions is 5th February 2010.

Google has sponsored a contest to encourage students in Tanzania and Kenya to create articles for the Swahili version of Wikipedia, mainly by translating them from the English Wikipedia, according to an article appearing in the . Swahili, because it is a second language for as many as 100 million people in East Africa, is thought to be one of the only ways to reach a mass audience of readers and contributors in the region.

Uhuru Solidarity movement

Cellou Dalein Diallo

‘Towards Food Sovereignty’ is an online book with full color photo illustrations and linked video and audio files. It describes the ecological basis of food and agriculture, the social and environmental costs of modern food systems, and the policy reversals needed to democratize food systems.

Mobile Monday, the global community of mobile industry professionals and innovators, has now launched its newest chapter in Uganda. The Kampala Chapter was founded by representatives from Uganda’s telecom companies: Orange Uganda, MTN Uganda, I-telecom, Mara Telecoms, Universities, media and ICT firms.

A US$20 million loan to the Republic of Zambia from IFAD will directly benefit 30,000 small-scale farming households, many headed by women. The loan agreement for the Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme was signed today in Rome by Lucy Mungoma, Ambassador to Italy for the Republic of Zambia, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD.

The African Union Chair Jean Ping has hailed the Governments of Chad and Sudan’s agreement to normalise the once soured relations between the two neighbours. The remarks followed the peace agreement signed on 15 January 2010 in N’Djamena.

More than two-thirds of African countries have laws criminalizing homosexual acts, and despite accounting for a significant percentage of new infections in many countries, men who have sex with men tend to be left out of the HIV response.

Feminist Practice of Technology is a growing idea that gives perspectives on technology. It poses questions and defines issues relating to technology from feminist perspectives, taking into account various women's realities, women's relationships with technologies, women's participation in technology development and policy-making, power dynamics in technologies and feminist analysis of the social effects of technologies.

Kenya's planned development path will more than double its carbon emissions unless efforts are taken to pursue low carbon development, according to an environmental think tank.

The global financial crisis threatens to deprive millions of children in the world’s poorest countries of an education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, with a knock-on effect on future economic growth, poverty reduction and progress in health and other areas, according to a United Nations report.

January 12 at 5 p.m. local time, a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake struck in Haiti. It was centered near the capital city Port-au-Prince and has caused massive destruction. We have word that School Director Réa Dol is okay and has converted her house and the school (which suprisingly survived the quake) into a makeshift hospital and shelter . There are 30 to 40 people at her home and 60 to 70 at the school.Unfortunately, we now know that some of the teachers and students were killed.

In collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communication Women’s Network Support Programme (APC WNSP), Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) organized a national strategy workshop on 22nd and 23rd September 2009 at NobView Hotel, Ntinda. The main objective of the workshop was to enable key stakeholders in the area of VAW and ICT to explore and understand the connections between violence against women and ICT.

People in developing countries often lack information that could transform their economic circumstances. Those in remote parts of Africa, in particular, could benefit from knowledge that would help them move up from subsistence farming to become successful, commercial smallholders.

An ambitious state plan that will almost double the number of people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment by the end of 2010 has drawn mixed reactions from AIDS activists, but increased donor funding has made the government quietly confident.

Dwa Fanm has activated an emergency response through our connection with the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Tabernacle doctors, nurses and community health workers are working to bring medical assistance and supplies to areas that have been hardest hit with the first delegation expected to be Haiti as early as tomorrow. Other delegations will continue to go to Haiti during these next few days of crisis.

Human rights campaigners who have been struggling for years to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) in West Africa got a boost this week as news emerged that a group of Muslim clerics and scholars in Mauritania had declared a fatwa, or religious decree, against the practice.

The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) would like to recruit a Program Coordinator to work at the Secretariat based in Kampala, Uganda. Applications which should include a letter of motivation and a C.V. with details of education background, working experience, human rights activities and three references should be sent to; [email]program@defenddefenders.org by the 31st January 2010.

Improving nutrition in the developing world has never been more important. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, more than a billion people — one sixth of the global population — have a diet so poor they may be severely underweight, have stunted growth, or lack the vitamins and minerals they need for good health (all are aspects of severe malnutrition, or undernutrition).