Full Coverage: Africa

30.11.2005 NAIROBI, Nov 30 (IPS) - With only a quarter of Kenyans who need anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) receiving them from government, the race is on to ensure that many more people get treatment to fend off AIDS-related diseases.

29.11.2005 “Ten minutes, five minutes, can affect your whole life." But now a pioneering group of South African women who have survived rape are confronting the violence by going public about their harrowing experiences, in the hope of stemming the epidemic of assault.

28.11.2005 In the wake of Senegal’s announcement that it would place the case of former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré in the hands of the African Union (AU), a leading rights group emphasised Dakar’s legal obligation to prosecute or extradite Habré and called on the AU to recommend Habré’s extradition to Belgium.

28.11.2005 Ahead of World Aids Day on 1 December, African governments are urged to strengthen health care systems - including more health workers - to cope with the epidemic, particularly the administration of ARVs.

28.11.2005 Civil Society organisations had earlier written to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan expressing serious concern about the suitability of Tunisia as a host country for the WSIS because of its poor huiman rights record. They have now asked him, again, to take follow up measures after serious attacks on human rights and the right to freedom of expression at the summit.

28.11.2005 Uganda has become the first country in the world to benefit from a healthcare information system that manages, measures and monitors the distribution of Anti retroviral drugs (ARVs).

28.11.2005 Two-week training for 26 students of the National University of Rwanda on radio journalism ended in Butare on 18 November 2005 with a graduation ceremony in the presence of the Rwandan Minister of Information.

25.11.2005 Without urgent international action to deal with the consequences of this year's food crisis in Niger, the country faces a second successive year of extreme suffering and hardship, the UN World Food Programme has warned.

25.11.2005 Two more mass graves - apparently of SWAPO independence fighters - have been found in northern Namibia, making a total of five since the discovery of the first on 9 November.

25.11.2005 An estimated three million girls in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East undergo genital mutilation every year, but the practice could be eliminated within a generation, says the UN Children's Fund.
* Razor's Edge - The Controversy of Female Genital Mutilation, OneWorld TV

25.11.2005 Liberia's president-elect Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has congratulated her challenger, soccer legend George Weah, for an "impressive showing," ignoring his charges of electoral fraud and promising to head an inclusive post-war government.

24.11.2005 Godwin Muhwezi-Bonge of the Daily Monitor reports on an interview with Salil Shetty, who as UN Millennium Campaign Director, has played a leading role in more than 30 programmes in Africa, Asia and across other regions. Some excerpts.

24.11.2005 A study funded by Sida aims to explore the opportunities for using ICTs in mitigating HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa. The study focused on three countries, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique. It seeks to discover how ICTs contribute to the empowerment of people living with HIV/AIDS and how the usage of ICTs improves ongoing and planned HIV/AIDS programs in the region.

24.11.2005 The first university / community radio station in Rwanda was officially inaugurated last week in the Southern town of Butare, where the National University of Rwanda (NUR) is located.

24.11.2005 Harvard-educated Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf stamped her name in the history books on Wednesday, when she was confirmed Liberia’s, as well as Africa’s, first female president.

23.11.2005 NAIROBI, Nov 22 (IPS) - Kenyans have decisively rejected a proposed constitution that was put to a referendum on Monday. A dejected President Mwai Kibaki said in a televised address Tuesday, "This is a giant step towards enhancing democracy. My government will respect the verdict of the people."

23.11.2005 The multimedia “e-library”, destined for schools around South Africa, was unveiled by Vodacom and the minister of education, Naledi Pandor, in Midrand yesterday.

22.11.2005 The U.S. should urge the U.N. to provide a stronger mandate and larger force to protect the vulnerable in Darfur, Sudan, said Africa Action Monday. The U.S. is in a strong position to initiate an intervention and Americans want it, the group said, citing the thousands of postcards U.S. citizens have sent to the White House calling for action.

22.11.2005 Kenya's proposed new constitution has been rejected in a referendum despite its having been supported by President Mwai Kibaki and other key figures in his government, the country's electoral commission announced on Tuesday.

22.11.2005 I’m from Zimbabwe. When I was growing up there were many refugees in my country. We didn’t like them. We thought they were taking our jobs, taking over our country. We wanted them to go home. I never dreamed that one day I would be an asylum seeker. Now I understand how quickly a life can change because of the political situation in a country. I wish I had been more friendly to those refugees.