Calling for greater recognition of the fact that ‘globalised’ action ignores the diversity of cultural, social, political and economic factors around the world, Fungai Machirori underlines that ‘we have to realise that when we talk gender and development, we are talking about human beings.’

Following her involvement in workshops and discussions around female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone, Chi Mgbako relates her experiences of listening to the views of young people from the country.

Namibia's ruling party overwhelmingly won last weekend's local and regional elections, claiming 92 per cent of constituencies in regional voting, officials announced late last Monday. The South West Africa People's Organisation (Swapo), which has ruled Namibia since independence in 1990, won 98 out of 107 constituencies in the regional vote, state broadcaster Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) said.

A coalition of Mozambican non-governmental organisations has reported mining giant BHP Billiton to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's Socially Responsible Investment Index (SRI) for 'intolerable conduct' in planned pollution at its aluminium smelter in Mozambique, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. The coalition of environmental and human rights NGOs sent a formal complaint to the JSE at the end of October, Vanessa Cabanelas, spokesperson for the environmental organisation Justica Ambiental, told the South African Press Association (Sapa).

Researchers are working on nanotechnology cures for age-old diseases, but is it affordable, what are the risks and what policies would ensure the best use of an expensive technology? SciDev.net looks at whether developing countries can use nanotechnology for heath care, the relationship between nanotechnology and health equity and how it is already being used.

South Africa is Africa's largest economy and the continent's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. But at the just opened climate negotiations, South Africa most likely will try to avoid reducing emissions. South Africa's CO2 emissions per capita are on par with those of the United Kingdom, and more than twice as high as China's emissions by the same measure. The country is presently responsible for about half of Africa's emissions, with 80 per cent of its estimated 400 million metric tonnes of CO2 coming from the energy sector alone.

This Atlas is a visual account of Africa's endowment and use of water resources, revealed through 224 maps and 104 satellite images as well as some 500 graphics and hundreds of compelling photos. However the Atlas is more than a collection of static maps and images accompanied by informative facts and figures: its visual elements vividly illustrate a succinct narrative describing and analysing Africa's water issues and exemplifying them through the judicious use of case studies.

In 2008, only six Somali women received prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services, although more than 2,600 women were estimated to need them. Not a single health centre delivered the complete PMTCT package which includes HIV counselling and testing, antiretroviral prophylaxis and infant feeding support. Earlier this year, however, a programme finally got off the ground, with PMTCT services starting to be offered at 21 sites in all three Somali regions - Puntland in the northeast, Somaliland in the northwest and south-central Somalia.

Olivier Mushiete sees himself as a pioneer: His ever-expanding acacia forest on the Bateké plateau, 120km east of Kinshasa, is central Africa’s first carbon sink plantation. 'Each hectare of acacia trees can capture 25-30 tons of CO2. They grow quickly and have no known predators, parasites or viruses. What’s more, they are leguminous so their leaves fertilize the soil. They’re great,' he enthused. Every day the plantation traps several tons of CO2. Mushiete, an agricultural engineer, has sold some of this sequestered greenhouse gas, in the form of carbon credits, for US$4 million, with the first payments due in 2012, once the first trees reach maturity.

The country’s agricultural sector will still be in a dilemma should the government continue to implement a temporary ban on food crop exportation. The government has stuck to its guns on the policy because it believes that it is crucial to safeguard food security in the region. But local experts on agriculture and economics have been challenging the authorities on the policy. They want the government to let farmers sell their agricultural produce across the borders to widen the market and develop the sector.

Work migration is currently a contentious issue across Africa and the world. Developed countries are increasingly suspicious of work migrants who are perceived to be stealing jobs, increasing crime and diluting the national culture. Outright xenophobia, the ugly side of migration, is increasingly becoming an issue in many countries also. On the part of home countries, migration is also often viewed negatively due to the longstanding concern of the ‘brain drain’ of African professionals to developed countries.

Crops are failing in Somalia because of poor rains, a unit of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation said, raising the prospect of drought and increased hunger in a country where millions already depend on humanitarian aid. Below average rainfall in Bay, Shabelle, Gedo, Bakool and Hiran regions in southern Somalia has already led to early crop failure with planted seeds not germinating in some areas,' said the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), managed by the FAO, in a statement.

Can Africa take the lead in taking advantage of e-books, as it has with the rapid expansion of mobile phones and innovations such as mobile banking applications? It is certainly too early to be sure. But there are some solid reasons to think this might be possible, more quickly than it seemed only a year or two ago. The advantages are clear, if internet access and bandwidth is available. There are literally millions of books now available free at various sites on the web, and the number is still growing rapidly. And Amazon's Kindle store has some 750,000 titles, most available at prices well under their paper counterparts. This issue of AfricaFocus contains links for sources of free books, as well as a sampling of Kindle e-books with Africa-related content.

What exactly can Twitter do for American imperialism? How is the US State Department deploying social media in their propaganda war? And is the contention that social media is a powerful tool for activists fighting against repressive regimes even true? In this review from the London Review of Books, these questions are answered through a look at three books: Death to the Dictator!: Witnessing Iran’s Election and the Crippling of the Islamic Republic by Afsaneh Moqadam; Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom by Evgeny Morozov and The Internet and Politics in Iran by Annabelle Sreberny and Gholam Khiabany.

The Aga Khan’s bid to build lodges for tourists in Uganda’s national parks has left government unsure of how to deal with a 30-year monopoly agreement it signed with the Madhvani Group while at the same time allow in more investors into this lucrative business. While addressing guests at the opening of Chobe Safari Lodge, President Museveni appeared torn between sticking to the terms of the deal his government signed with the Madhvani Group and opening space for competition in the accommodation business.

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) participated in the 48th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) which took place from 10 - 24 November 2010 in Banjul, The Gambia. During that session, OMCT, along with partner organisations, delivered several oral statements denouncing, among other serious violations of human rights, the occurrence of torture and ill-treatment in Africa, the use of the death penalty across the continent, and the lack of adequate cooperation between the African Commission and the NGOs in connection with the Commission’s country missions.

A return to civil war in Sudan would cost the country, the region and the international community more than $100bn over 10 years, says a new report. The report, published on Thursday by a coalition of European and African economic and political think-tanks, comes amid fears that an upcoming referendum on southern independence could trigger an escalation of violence.

There will be little surprise in the results of Egypt's elections today, says the latest edition of the AfricaFocus Bulletin, as the ruling party has taken all the repressive steps necessary to ensure that it will have no problem in winning. But, says Egyptian human rights analyst Bahey Eldin Hassan, there will be four significant battles to watch: the legitimacy battle, the battle to monitor, the media battle, and the extent of violence. Opposition to the regime is widespread and growing, although its expression at the polls will be limited. Judges, bloggers, Facebook groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, and supporters of opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director of the International Atomic Energy Commission all represent stirrings in Egyptian society that will likely be significant for the future, despite their exclusion from political power.

'The crazy old man' - this apparently is how South Africa’s International Relations Minister, Maite Nkoane Mashabane, branded Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, according to a US embassy cable from Pretoria to Washington. It is part of the first batch of 250,000 US embassy cables leaked by Wikileaks and which were published by major newspapers around the world, including The Guardian in Britain and the New York Times.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Sunday ordered for the arrest of gay couples. The PM asserted that the recent census showed there were more women than men and there was no need for same sex relationships.

Sixteen Days of Activism campaign is the period 25 November and 10 December when activists raise heightened awareness around gender violence. The campaign began in 1991 and since then has brought various stakeholders including gender activists, civil society, governments, private sector, Faith Based Organisations, communities and development partners to find lasting strategies to end gender violence. Visit the Gender Links '16 Days of Activism 2010' page for information on this year's campaign focus, resources, events and articles.

Rights groups contested on Monday an official turnout of 25 per cent in an Egyptian parliamentary election that was marred by opposition charges of ballot stuffing, bullying and trickery. The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) always deals heavy defeats to its opponents but the two-round elections are being watched for the space given to the government's critics and clues to the NDP's strategy in a 2011 presidential vote.

Standard Newspaper journalist Nqobani Ndlovu was released from Khami Prison in Bulawayo on Friday, after the High Court dismissed an appeal by the state against the granting of bail by a magistrate. Ndlovu, who spent 10 days in custody, was arrested over a story he wrote claiming police had frozen internal promotions this year to accommodate war vets. He alleged the war vets were being recruited to direct operations during next year’s anticipated elections.

The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) has launched its annual global Call for Proposals for programmes that support country-level efforts to end violence against women and girls. The criteria, eligibility requirements and application guidelines are available at The deadline for application is 20 January 2011.

Scores of women's organisations from Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia joined forces last week for a sensational campaign led by the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR). As part of the 'One Day, One Struggle' simultaneous event on 9 November, public demonstrations, film screenings, theatre performances and workshops were held in Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Sudan, Turkey and Tunisia.

A randomised controlled trial has found that the HIV infection rate in HIV-negative gay men who were given a daily preventative pill containing two HIV drugs was reduced by 44 per cent, compared with men given a placebo. The efficacy in subjects who, by self-report and pill count, took the drugs more than 90 per cent of the time was 73 per cent. The other big finding of the iPrEx (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Initiative) trial was that while 93 per cent of trial subjects reported taking the pills correctly, on the basis of drug level monitoring in blood tests, only 51 per cent actually did so.

The economies of Africa, the world’s poorest region, are under severe threat from free trade agreements that they are under pressure to sign with the European Union, the world’s richest region. Under these economic partnership agreements (EPAs), Europe wants Africa to open up its economies to European goods, services and companies. But the African countries are understandably worried their small industries and service operators will not be able to survive free competition from giant European companies, banks and commercial firms, writes Martin Khor in The China Post.

Born in Mogadishu, Siham and Iman Hashi are the first female Somali artists to sign a record deal with a major American label. After the civil war broke out in Somalia in the 1990s, the girls and their family moved to Canada as refugees. They are currently in Los Angeles recording their first album as 'Sweet Rush' with Universal Motown, while finding time to raise awareness about the continuing suffering in their homeland.

luminium giant BHP Billiton’s Mozal smelter has begun bypassing its fume treatment centres, emitting potentially dangerous fumes into the air without treating them first – despite a pending court case on the matter. There has been strong opposition from civil society and community groups. A coalition established to fight the bypass, led by local groups Livaningo and Justica Ambiental (Environmental Justice), says that the community has still not been presented with adequate evidence that the bypass will not be harmful to their health.

Less common but perhaps more useful than the tourist map is the ‘harassment map’ that many Cairo women are beginning to refer to. HarassMap, a private initiative run by volunteer activists, allows women who have been subject to harassment to report the incident anonymously by SMS, e-mail or online social networking sites. The information is compiled into a database that utilises open-source mapping technology to create a digital map of harassment 'hotspots' in Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

Home to over half of Ethiopia’s remaining afromontane forest and the centre of origin for the wild coffee arabica, Kafa is a dense tangle of forest, bamboo thickets and wetlands 475 kilometres southwest of the capital, Addis Ababa. Decades of deforestation by smallholder farmers as well as large state and privately-owned farms destroyed 43 per cent of the Kafa rainforest. But the forest is now a model of sustainable forest management.

Laws and practices governing citizenship in too many African countries effectively leave hundreds of thousands of people without a nationality, says a new report. 'These stateless Africans are among the continent’s most vulnerable populations: they can neither vote nor stand for office; they cannot enrol their children in school, travel freely, or own property; they cannot work for the government; they are exposed to human rights abuses. Statelessness exacerbates and underlies intercommunal, interethnic, and interracial tensions in many regions of the continent.' The report, 'Citizenship Law in Africa' was written by Bronwen Manby, of the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP) of the Open Society Foundations, based on a comparative analysis of the citizenship laws of 53 countries.

Gado suggests that the pope's assent to the use of condoms may encourage further demands on the Catholic Church.

Land Value Capture is a public revenue policy recommended for national action by consensus of all UN member states in both the UN Habitat II Agenda in 1996 and The Vancouver Action Plan, the 1976 founding document for UN Habitat. Land value capture can provide a substantial and practical means to raise the revenue needed to implement Local Agenda 21 sustainable community plans, meet the Millennium Development Goals, and provide needed community services.

A Women for Women International report being released on international Stop Violence Against Women Day (25 November) finds ‘violence against women is the single biggest threat to peace’ and countries are falling strikingly short on UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) and UN (SCR) 1325 development and security goals. The report found that at the ten year mark, goals signed up to by UN members to eliminate poverty and empower women, have fallen strikingly short of expectations. While many countries are behind on their promises to meet the MDGs, particularly those goals in which gender is explicit, conflict-affected countries, are further behind.

Without reporting by states that have ratified the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa, how can we assess what progress they've made in implementing it, asks Karen Stefiszyn.

On November 16, the third committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted to remove a reference to sexual orientation from a resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The resolution urges states to protect the right to life of all people, including by calling on states to investigate killings based on discriminatory grounds. For the past 10 years, the resolution has included sexual orientation in the list of discriminatory grounds on which killings are often based. The Joint Working Group, comprising a coalition of organisations working on gay and lesbian issues, explain why the dropping of the term 'sexual orientation' is a bad idea.

At the fifth anniversary of the coming into force of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, Corey Calabrese and Caroline Muthoni Muriithi argue that the focus for women’s rights activists across Africa should be on the protocol’s legal domestication, ensuring its provisions become ever further embedded within individual country’s laws.

An uprising in a camp in occupied Western Sahara, freedom of speech in Morocco and Ethiopia, and ‘the need to change the sorry state of education in SA’ are among the topics covered in this week’s roundup of the African blogosphere, by Sokari Ekine.

At the end of next week, delegates from across the world will start arriving in Cancun for the follow-up to Copenhagen. They do so in the shadow of the World Bank’s announcement of $270 million for three countries - Bangladesh, Niger and Tajikistan – to help them cope with the effects of climate change, for instance by protecting coastlines and planting crops more resilient to flooding. These funds will be enhanced by others and ultimately the money comes from developed country governments like that of the UK. The problem is that much of the money will come not in the form of grants but low-interest loans. Why is this a problem? Because it contradicts the main principle which developing countries are fighting for in climate negotiations – that rich countries must not only reduce their emissions substantially but they must pay for poorer countries to clean up.

September 2010 cast a dark cloud over Zambia’s chances of ending gender-based violence in the country when two political leaders beat up their wives. Early September, Opposition Patriotic Front (PF) Member of Parliament for Kasama Central and prominent Lusaka businessman, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, beat up his wife after a dispute at their residence in Lusaka. About two weeks later, Livingstone District Commissioner Francis Chika also assaulted his wife after a domestic argument. Both incidents were widely reported in the Zambian media.

Minorities in Somalia are being subjected to a previously unreported pattern of gross human rights violations including summary executions, reported beheadings and rape, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) says in a new report. The report, 'No redress: Somalia'’s forgotten minorities', says the situation for minorities is worse than for other groups in the current conflict because, unlike the majority population, they lack protection from the traditional clan structure.

Re-reading W.E.B Dubois’s 90-year old essay on race and modern imperialism, Bill Fletcher Jr finds that is still relevant today, in the wake of the US’s November 2010 elections and ‘the victories…by the political Right’.

US President Barack Obama has outlined a plan to disarm one of Africa's most feared rebel militias, the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army. It aims to defuse the spiralling bloodshed in central Africa by removing the LRA's leader, Joseph Kony. LRA fighters will also be encouraged to defect or lay down their arms.

A senior Iranian MP accused Gambia on Tuesday of bowing to pressure from the United States after the tiny African country severed ties with Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported. 'This move is seen as a result of American pressure as well as US policies aimed at damaging Iran's relations with different countries, including in Africa,' said Alaeddin Borujerdi, the head of parliament's foreign policy commission.

Entries for the UNEP Young Environmental Journalist Award Africa are now open. The competition, which is made possible through funding support from the Government of the United States of America, is open to African journalists between 25 and 35 years old, working for African news and media organisations.

Well-implemented inclusive education should address the learning needs of all children vulnerable to being marginalised and excluded from education. Inclusive approaches often do not take account of children who once had access to education, but have since dropped out of school. This article looks at inclusion in Ghana from the point of view of dropouts. To date, policy on inclusive education in Ghana has focused mainly on girls and/or children with physical disabilities. Yet, drop-out rates can be up to 15 per cent at primary level, and 35 per cent at junior high school level.