The International People’s Health University (IPHU) and People’s Health Movement (PHM) in association with the Medical University of Cuba, the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the University of Cuenca (Ecuador) and the Global Forum on Health Research are pleased to announce THE STRUGGLE FOR HEALTH - A short training course from 4-13 November 2009 In Havana, Cuba.

Guy Mvelle

Rodrigue Kpogli

ICLR was founded in 2002 with the mission of supporting workers? and trade union rights internationally. Our resolution was to develop a network of lawyers who could provide quickly respond to the needs of labor movements, no matter where. Today, there are more than 300 Network members spanning more than 75 countries. And we continue to expand into new areas all the time. This is a model that we believe in and are recommitting to as we move forward with our work.

This Bulletin began in response to news reports of “corrective” and “curative” gang rapes of lesbians in South Africa. These were then followed by news reports of a study in South Africa that found that one in four men in South Africa had committed rape, many of them more than once. We wanted to bring together concerned Africa scholars and committed African activists and practitioners, to help contextualize these reports.

We would like to alert our readers to a correction to a review entitled , published in issue 446 of Pambazuka News. The review was authored by Harry Verhoeven, Lydiah Kemunto Bosire and Sharath Srinivasan, and not simply Bosire, as previously stated in Pambazuka.

From The Local To The Global: Key Issues in Development Studies
2nd edition
Edited by Gerard McCann and Stephen McCloskey
Released October 4th 2009
PB / £ 17.99 / 9780745328423 / 215mm x 135mm / 320pp

The government of Zambia’s decision to further delay the tabling of the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill and its failure to guarantee the introduction of the Bill in the next parliamentary session represents a huge setback in the nation’s fight against corruption. Indeed, the failure of parliament to enact or even debate this crucial piece of legislation appears astonishing when we consider the revelation of the Ministry of Health corruption scandal earlier this year.

Nigeria has over the past 10 years recorded high enrolment and completion rates in primary school education. From 67 percent in 1990, enrolment jumped to 74 percent by 2000, and 91 percent by 2007. The schooling completion rate also improved from 60 percent in 1990 to 76 percent in 2003, and 82 percent by 2007. Enrolment continues to rise.

"Government must lead in breaking down the stereotypes of women as tuck-shop owners, candle-makers, peasant farmers, teachers and nurses and create the reality in which they become hoteliers, large-scale commercial farmers, miners and proprietors of retail chains." These were the words of Zimbabwe’s vice president Joyce Mujuru addressing a women’s investment conference held in Harare on Sep 4. The conference was attended by South African and Zimbabwean businesswomen.

Internet cafés are in decline in Senegal. These access points to knowledge and communication, once found on every street corner in Dakar and open day and night, are no longer so widely available. Thanks to the infrastructure and development of bandwidth put in place by incumbent operator Sonatel, the high cost of internet has fallen rapidly, from XOF 1,000 (USD 2.15) or 1,500 (USD 3.25) to XOF 300 (USD 0.65) or 200 (USD 0.43) an hour, making it possible for more people, from students to street vendors to private consultants, to surf the net from home (for those who can afford it) or elsewhere at a relatively accessible price.

Thousands of people affected by a severe drought in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, are in desperate need of assistance, with officials describing the situation as “very critical”. "We are at a critical stage and if help does not come within weeks the situation could develop into a catastrophe,” Abdullahi Abdirahman Ahmed, head of the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Agency of Puntland (HADMA), said.

Police should release Mohamed Osman, director of Radio Horyaal, who has been held without charge since his arrest on Saturday outside parliament in Hargeisa, capital of the breakaway republic of Somaliland, the Committee to Protect Journalists has said.

An alarming rise has been recorded in the number of Nigerian girls trafficked to Italy. Last year 1,782 young girls from Nigeria arrived in Lampedusa, compared to 166 in 2007, human rights organisations say. Lampedusa, an Italian island 205 km from the Italian coast, located between Tunisia and Sicily, is used as a holding centre for migrants, particularly from Africa.

Nine kilometres each way, rain or shine: That's how far Suzanne Chisulo has to travel to school each day. Chisulo is one of 120 girls who faced problems getting to the Ndapula Community School. Many of the girls were missing lessons at least twice a week.

Uganda was one of the first countries in Africa to develop a policy on universal access to telecommunications. Despite several blunders relating to the liberalisation of its telecoms sector, the country is held in high esteem by many for what is seen to be a far-reaching and proactive approach to providing access to information and communications technology (ICT) for the poor.

More than 2,000 refugees in Burundi have rejected UN appeals to move to a new camp for fear they could be exposed to attack. The refugees, from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Banyamulenge community, are housed in a camp in Gihinga, in Burundi’s central Mwaro province. The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and the Burundian government

On August 28, 2009, President Mamadou Tandja signed into law a bill granting him absolute control over the Supreme Council for Communications (CSC), the country's media regulatory body. Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)'s correspondent reported that Article 130 of the new Constitution that was recently adopted under a controversial referendum in early August has reduced the previous 11 members to seven. It also gives the president the power to appoint four members, including the CSC's president.

For Katriena Anthony, being four months pregnant comes with hazards particular to her living conditions. The 38-year-old resident of Mandela Square informal settlement in the rural town of Montague, three hours drive from Cape Town, she lives in a two-roomed shack made of wood and zinc sheets. She has no electricity or running water, and every morning she has to walk long distances to collect wood, while water for drinking and cooking must be carried to her home from a nearby tap in a plastic bucket.

In this week's emerging powers news, Chinese investors continue to focus on Nigerian, Kenyan, and South African assets, as India continues to grow in stature as an African investor and global economic power.

The World Bank Group announced today that its financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and programmes in developing countries has gone up 24 percent in the last fiscal year to reach $3.3 billion, the highest ever. Total renewable energy and energy efficiency commitments for the year ended June 30, 2009 accounted for more than 40 percent of total Bank Group energy lending.