In the autumn of 2008 Panos London worked with participants from the African HIV Policy Network (AHPN) to produce digital stories about their lives and concerns. All the participants are living with HIV and were at risk of being removed to their country of origin where treatment is not necessarily accessible, affordable or available. These stories are being used as part of AHPN's Destination Unknown campaign.

The European Union is not yet ready to establish normal ties with Zimbabwe or resume aid despite a "positive evolution" in politics there, according to a letter made public Thursday. "The EU shares your opinion that there are indications of a positive evolution of the political situation in Zimbabwe," the bloc said in a letter to John Kaputin, secretary general of African, Caribbean and Pacific nations.

Norway said on Monday it was renewing aid to Zimbabwe it cut off in 2000, despite worries about what it called "years of misrule, embezzlement and hyperinflation" under President Robert Mugabe. The Norwegian government, one of the first to renew badly needed aid, said it would give 58 million crowns (5.8 million pounds) via non-governmental organizations, the World Bank and United Nations, avoiding the government financial system.

Witnesses have testified in the case of 11 men in Burundi, accused of the attempted murder of albino people and selling of their body parts. Initial charges of murder have been dropped because the prosecution failed to produce enough evidence. Police suspect the body parts are being sold in neighbouring Tanzania, for use in witchcraft.

Can a joint approach to governance assessment help to improve aid effectiveness? What can be learned from the first Joint Governance Assessment (JGA) undertaken in Rwanda during 2008? A JGA aims to bring government and development partners together to review governance performance based on commonly agreed indicators. This brief from The Policy Practice recommends that such an assessment can prove to be helpful to advancing dialogue, but is likely to be a long-term and difficult process that is only suited to particular circumstances where the process can address joint concerns of government and donors.

For the first time, at this year’s eLearning Africa in Dakar, delegates from all over Africa and beyond will join leading international experts for a major debate on an issue of central importance for the future of education in Africa. The subject for this year’s debate is technology, an issue that is likely to stir up a lively discussion among delegates. The debate, which will be held in English and French, will be co-chaired by former British parliamentarian Dr Harold Elletson, a member of the advisory board of eLearning Africa, and the well-known Senegalese television presenter Khalil Gueye.

The Nigeria Red Cross says conflict-hit areas it has been able to access in the Niger Delta are in better condition than anticipated, but that continued restrictions on aid workers' movement leaves many questions unanswered. Government soldiers are controlling access in and out of the Delta, site of a military incursion launched on 13 May to crack down on Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) militants.

The International Development Association (IDA), the arm of the World Bank that makes grants and interest-free, long-term loans to poor countries around the world, lacks effective safeguards against corruption, according to a report by the Bank's own Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). The report concluded that IDA, which currently lends and grants about $10 billion annually to governments in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, doesn't protect its funds adequately from theft and diversion.

A United Nations-commissioned study shows that land acquisitions are on the increase in Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and Southeast Asia, raising the risk that poor people will lose access to land, water, and other resources.

African growth will fall to 2% in 2009 from 5.1% in 2008 and agriculture will prove the continent's best chance of pulling itself from poverty. Most African economies had been growing steadily but the global economic crisis has caused aid flows to fall, slashed demand and prices for its agricultural exports. "GDP growth in Africa has declined from 6.0 percent in 2007 to 5.1 percent in 2008 and is expected to be 2.0 percent in 2009," a report published jointly by the AU and the United Nations Economic Commission (ECA) for Africa said.

There was much activity in the magistrates’ courts in Harare on Thursday when human rights lawyers, two senior journalists and WOZA activists appeared in court for separate, routine, remand hearings. Two editors from the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, Vincent Kahiya and Constantine Chimakure, appeared before Magistrate Catherine Chimanda, who ruled that they will stand trial on June 16 th. This was after the State Prosecutor, Moses Musendo, argued that they face serious charges that justifies them standing trial.

A decade after Nigeria's last military ruler ordered his troops to "forever resist the seduction and temptation of political power", democracy still has a fragile hold on Africa's most populous nation. Nigerians marked 10 straight years of civilian rule on Friday frustrated that corruption remains endemic, poverty widespread and infrastructure shambolic, but fairly confident that the military is unlikely to stage a comeback.

An ANC task team headed by the former Director-General of Health Dr Olive Shisana and heavily laden with trade unionists, is trying to convince the ANC and government to hastily implement a National Health Insurance (NHI) plan that many believe spells disaster for the buckling public health system. Inequities in the health system, which has resulted in the private sector monopolising resources disproportionately, need to be addressed. However, this must be done in a manner that does not destroy the functioning private sector and cause more skilled health professionals to leave the country.

In September 2008 I was in New York to attend the UN high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the internationally agreed targets to reduce poverty by 2015. Delegate after delegate talked about the need for more funds to eradicate hunger, to cut preventable deaths of infants and pregnant women, to provide clean water and sanitation, to educate girls. The life and dignity of billions of people were at stake, but there was only limited will to back up the talk with money.

A Non Governmental Organization in Kenya's Nyanza province is set to launch a sexual identity and human rights debate project on Tuesday.Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO)’s executive director Dolphin Oketch says the debate will open space for dialogue on sexuality. Oketch says there has been silence on homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality and transsexual practices in Kenyan schools, families and the society that must be addressed.

Reporters Without Borders has written to communication minister Laure Olga Gondjout and National Communication Council chairman Emmanuel Ondo Methogo voicing concern about the suspension of two Gabonese newspapers, Ezombolo and Le Nganga, and the warnings issued to Radio France Internationale (RFI) and the Canal Overseas Africa satellite TV service over their coverage of President Omar Bongo’s health.

The APC Africa ICT Policy Monitor website was launched in late 2001 with a goal to provide information to African civil society organisations to fruitfully engage in information and communications technology (ICT) policy advocacy in Africa. At that time the idea of ICT policy advocacy was a relatively new one in many countries on the continent, and we wanted governments and policy-makers to recognise that access to and the use of ICTs is a basic human right.

A panel consisting of Italian leaders together with international and African leaders has today appealed for focused investments on smallholders farmers in Africa in order to avoid a further and deepening crisis amidst the already ugly scars of the global slum effects.

The Somaliland political parties have signed an agreement with the Electoral Commission to fix an election date in the Horn of Africa state. The agreement which is derived from a series of negotiations among the political parties and the electoral committee, saw all parties agreeing to 27 September 2009 as the official day for the polls.

Insufficient cheaper alternatives and a large former refugee population are fuelling tree-felling and dependence on charcoal in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, adversely affecting the environment, say analysts. Most urban households use charcoal for everyday cooking. "We use a sack of charcoal every four days because our family is large," said Zahra Omar, a mother of 12, in the capital, Hargeisa.

Foreign aid for government health projects in Zambia, where most of the national health budget is donor-funded, was frozen last week after allegations of corruption. The governments of the Netherlands and Sweden announced they had suspended aid after a whistleblower alerted Zambia's Anti-Corruption Commission [ACC] to the embezzlement of over US$2 million from the health ministry by top government officials.

An estimated 900 babies in the developing world are infected with HIV every day because governments fail to reach pregnant women with prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services. "We are doing a bad job of testing women for HIV and then following them up, and an even worse job of ensuring that infants receive appropriate prevention and treatment services," Janet Kayita, regional PMTCT advisor to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), told a press conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 25 May.

In September of 2008, 1300 delegates from all the eight provinces of Kenya created the National Youth Movement at the National Youth Convention. 14 Key resolutions were passed and has been actively recruiting and implementing them through members across the country and at the national level. The National Youth Movement is active and will deliver results as per to the aspirations of the young people who legitimately formed it.

A group of armed supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Techiman, a town in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana on May 28, 2009 besieged the premises of privately-owned Classic FM physically attacked three persons and vandalised the station.

Sanusha Naidu compiles a list of the top stories on Sino-African relations.

The Institute for Capacity Development (ICD) is pleased to announce to you its short course offerings for the period June – December 2009 in Windhoek, Namibia. ICD invites you; your colleagues and your institution to the management development courses that will enhance your skills and make you more effective at the workplace. ICD courses are aimed at skills transfer and course delivery makes use of you work experience and specific needs and integrated computer based problems and simulations.

* Are you an Executive Director or manager of a non-profit organization
* Are you working in the NGO sector?
* Is your organization’s sustainability threatened by shrinking donor support?
* Are you in charge of fundraising and resource mobilisation in your organization
* Do want to enhance your skills in fundraising?
* Are you a trainer or consultant in fundraising and resource mobilisation for the non-profit sector?
If your answer to any or all of the above questions is yes, then this 20 days course organised jointly by GIMPA, the Resource Alliance (UK) and the African Women’s Development Foundation (AWDF) Ghana is definitely a must!

In an interview with Mahmood Mamdani, questions the author about his views on the Darfur conflict and his latest book Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror. Contending that children and teenagers in the US mobilised under the Save Darfur campaign should be considered as 'child soldiers' supporting a military effort, Mamdani argues that what essentially represents a form of political mobilisation for war has been effectively promoted as a moral crusade. Mamdani will be speaking at an event organised by Pambazuka News in Oxford, UK, on

UNRISD is now accepting applications for a two to three-month internship position to begin in July 2009 (preferred starting date: 2 July) in the Gender and Development Programme (GAD). Eligible candidates must be currently enrolled in a master’s or PhD degree programme (as per UN Secretariat rules regarding interns) in economics, sociology, political science or a related field from an accredited university and have academic and professional experience in issues related to gender and social development. Written and spoken fluency in English is essential.

The Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) has opened its 2009 Fellowship Programme. It encourages all journalists in developing countries who report on climate change to apply. This programme comes during a critical year of negotiations that ends in December with the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen where a new global deal could be struck.

Pambazuka News has published Tajudeen’s weekly Pan-African Postcard regularly since 2004. While we joke that Tajudeen’s writing was ‘an editor’s nightmare’, it was first and foremost a source of penetrating, incisive insight into pan-African affairs, expressed with humour and an underlying sense of optimism and belief that, however great the challenges the continent faces, by uniting and organising, we can build Africa into a great place for all its citizens. In celebration of Tajudeen’s commitment and contribution to Pan-Africanism – and to the Pambazuka community – we have picked a few of our favourite postcards to share with you. These postcards, listed in chronological order, demonstrate Tajudeen’s uncanny ability to see to the heart of the matter, to understand the workings of the human heart, to clarify complex and controversial issues and to inspire people to work for change.

Even by Africa’s grim standards, it was a horrendous statistic: 5.4m people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo from “war-related causes since 1998”, claimed the International Rescue Committee in January last year. The figure, based on a series of house-to-house visits across the country conducted by the New York-based agency, won widespread acceptance. It was used by the IRC and other relief bodies in their appeals for funds, cited by diplomats in their efforts to restore peace to the region and reported by journalists seeking a statistical shorthand for an African catastrophe.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/435/56583_TAR's_final_journey_11_tmb.jpgIn tribute to the passing of a giant of Pan-Africanism, Pambazuka News devotes this edition to the life and inspirational work of Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem. Following Tajudeen's tragic death in a car accident on 25 May, Pambazuka has seen a huge response from those wishing to pay their respects and salute a true colossus of African liberation. In inspired remembrance, Pambazuka's editor in chief Firoze Manji rounds up the overwhelming wave of tributes we have received in the wake of Tajudeen's sad passing.

With this year's now announced, Mildred Kiconco Barya interviews Helon Habila, the 2001 winner of the prize.

It was just a small loan worth the equivalent of $100, from a local microfinance bank. But it enabled Mojamah who had just come back to her home in Kenema, Sierra Leone, after the country’s civil war, to set up a dressmaking business to support her family of six. In neighbouring Liberia, Amelia, a single mother with five children, got a loan of $83 to help expand her work crushing rocks used to build roads. The loan worked so well she applied for another, worth $200, so she could hire workers to help meet the growing demand for roading material, as Liberia rebuilt itself after the war.

Amid concerns on the safety of genetically-modified cro ps and the cost of acquiring GM seeds by the largely peasant African farmers, the debate over the acceptability of biotechnology continues to rage in Uganda, just it does in most parts of Africa. Supporters of biotechnology said it offered Africa the best chance of guarding against food insecurity because it enhances agricultural productions.

General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, former leader of the ruling military junta in Mauritania, who is contesting the controversial 6 June election, says the vote would not be postponed. General Aziz, who resigned his position as President on 15 April to contest the election, told a press conference in Nouakchott that the 6 June date “is a choic e made by the Mauritanian people at the end of the ‘nationwide days for concerted action’ held in December 2008 and January 2009”.

Guinea-Bissau's Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared Pedro Nfanda to contest the 28 June presidential election. This brings to 13 the number of candidates who want to succeed President Joao Bernardo “Nino” Vieira, who was assassinated on 2 March. The candidacy of Pedro Nfanda, a lawyer, had initially been rejected by the Supr eme Court because the policy-making committee of the Environmental Protection League (LIFE), on whose ticket he was standing, had not taken action to replace the governing body of the party after its chairman had died

Kenyan authorities Wednesday sacked the Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), Umuro Wario, citing graft. But insiders were quick to point out that Wario was a victim of boardroom politics. Wario’s sacking was effected by the Fund’s Board on 11 May, as various arms of government continued with investigations into allegations of mismanagement.

The trial has begun in Burundi of 11 defendants accused of attacking and killing 12 albino people, starting with the murder of a young girl. It is thought to be the first trial linked to the recent spate of albino killings in East Africa, which has claimed more than 50 lives.

Ethiopian military forces have crossed back into Somalia, four months after leaving, witnesses told the BBC. Their reported return comes as Islamist militants continue to seize towns from the fragile Western-backed government. One resident said he saw Ethiopian troops digging trenches in Kalabeyr, a town 22km (14 miles) from the Somali-Ethiopian border.

The United Nations Security Council should vigorously condemn war crimes by Congolese army soldiers in the eastern part of the country, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch urged the Security Council to condition UN support for Congolese military operations on the removal of known human rights abusers from command positions.

Life has not been the same since she lost her parents four years ago and the little property they owned grabbed by her immediate relatives. For her, every day has meant living for herself and her two younger sisters. With no property and or education, Fatima Hassan took her best friend’s advice, Amina Ahmed, and together they begun a journey that has forever transformed her life. Their names have been changed though because if known to the community, their lifestyle could lead to dire consequences, even death.

Since its first edition in 2003, the International Day Against Homophobia has grown larger year by year. With this, May 17 has become the prime moment to remember that homophobia still exists and that we must combat it. The proposed goal for the 2009 Campaign is to make the general population and, more specifically, ethno-cultural communities of all backgrounds more aware of gay and lesbian issues, and sexual diversity. Ethno-cultural communities occupy an increasingly significant place in our societies. What’s more, contributions by these communities are invaluable to our country.

ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association publishes the third edition of its report and map on State Sponsored Homophobia based on research by Daniel Ottosson. The report is a collection of legislation criminalising consensual sexual acts between persons of the same sex in private over the age of consent.

The United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) has called for a prompt resumption of voter registration to allow for broad participation in the November presidential elections. UNOCI spokesman Hamadoun Toure told reporters in Abidjan that the Mission “stresses the importance of a strong commitment to expedite the remaining tasks for organizing free, fair and transparent elections in the country.”

Despite a lull in clashes between Government forces and insurgents in the Somali capital, the number of people who have fled Mogadishu in the past 12 days has climbed to 45,000, the United Nations refugee agency has reported.