Kenya is studying the education systems of Japan, Korea and Malaysia to see how it can reform its own system to spur industrialisation. This was disclosed by the chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, Mr Daniel Karaba, as his committee left for Japan. Karaba said during the two-week visit his 6-man committee would critically study the education systems of the three countries and Thailand if time allows. He said the trip has been necessitated by the envisaged reforms in the Kenyan education system to make it more responsive to the needs of the country.

IRC has operated a multi-sector program in eastern DRC since early November 1996. IRC has been active in health, water and sanitation, shelter construction, structural rehabilitation and support of local NGOs. From its inception, the IRC-eastern DRC program was designed to meet the urgent needs of refugees attempting to repatriate to Rwanda, while also serving the rehabilitation needs of the local communities adversely affected by the civil war and the subsequent damage caused by the mass exodus of over one million refugees and the looting of departing armies. The Provincial Coordinator is ultimately responsible for overseeing all project implementation.

Kenya is not among eight African countries chosen last Thursday to apply for a new set of US development grants totalling one billion dollars. It was excluded mainly on the grounds that it had not adequately controlled official corruption. It was also given failing grades on some of the other 16 tests for eligibility for the new aid programme, known as the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). In Nairobi, the US embassy said that Kenya remained eligible "for consideration" during next year's selection process.

A report suggesting the legalisation of abortion in Kenya to reduce maternal mortality has sparked a heated debate in the country. Pro-life organisations claim that preventing unwanted pregnancies is a better way of reducing these deaths. The study, ‘A National Assessment of the Magnitude and Consequences of Unsafe Abortion in Kenya’ recommends that "There should be a review of the policy and law on abortion in Kenya." At present, termination of pregnancy is outlawed in the East African country, except in instances where a woman’s life is in danger.