Full Coverage: East Africa

31.12.2004 A national government in exile and a self-declared regional government operating in the area of tsunami devastation may not be the ideal platform for effective coordination of aid in Somalia. But out of chaos, the seeds of eventual stability may be sown.

30.12.2004

Pondicherry fishing village after the tsunami © M S Swaminathan Research Foundation

Latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO) puts the number of people displaced by last weekend’s the tidal waves at five million. Eleven countries across six time zones were affected, including Seychelles, Kenya and Tanzania. More than 80,000 people are confirmed dead, with more than 32,000 occurring in the Indonesian regions of Aceh and north Sumatra. Nearly 30 international organizations are already providing relief services in different communities. The UN launched an initial appeal for $130 million ahead of a much vaster appeal scheduled for January 6.

30.12.2004 Following their first ever “face-to-face” meeting earlier this week, representatives of the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army are due to sign a ceasefire accord Friday. The accord is expected to be a forerunner to formal negotiations to end the 18-year conflict that has displaced more than 1.6 million people.

28.12.2004 Rhinoceroses, elephants and other species of interest to tourists will soon roam the beautiful Nechasar National Park courtesy of a contract between the Ethiopian government and African Parks Foundation of the Netherlands. On the outskirts of the park, some 2,000 families who were relocated from its grounds are squatting with other hard up families in a village where they have no access to basic conveniences or infrastructure.

27.12.2004 Tidal waves provoked by the earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra Sunday affected coastal communities from south east Asia to Somalia in the Horn of Africa. Sri Lanka suffered the highest toll with about 13,000 deaths confirmed so far.

20.12.2004 Wangari Maathai spoke at an event in London on her way home after collecting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. OneWorld UK was there.

20.12.2004 One alternative gift possibility will help AIDS-affected orphans in Zambia go to school this year.

20.12.2004 Two wars involving Rwanda in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have left nearly 4 million dead over the past decade. The countries' newest crisis could ignite the entire Great Lakes region, warns the International Crisis Group, recommending the international community sit all parties down for urgent discussions and apply a mix of muscle and diplomacy to forge a comprehensive solution.

16.12.2004 Rwanda has been threatening for some time to send troops into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to dispel and destroy Rwandan rebels leftover from the genocide of 1994 whom they say are planning new attacks on their country. There have been some reports of Rwandan forces already fighting inside the DRC. Now Uganda has amassed its forces along the DRC border. As tensions boil in Africa's Great Lakes region, allafrica's Charlie Cobb spoke with Rwanda's Foreign Affairs Minister to get his country's side of the story.

14.12.2004 Wangari Muta Maathai accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway Friday, using the pulpit to show the links between peace, development, and the environment. The founder of the "Green Belt Movement" is the first African woman to be awarded the prize.

13.12.2004 WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec 13 (OneWorld) – Major international and local human rights groups are slamming last week's enactment by Zimbabwe's parliament--on the eve of International Human Rights Day no less--of a bill that bans foreign rights groups from working in Zimbabwe and foreign funding of local rights groups.

13.12.2004 International human rights observers are outraged by a new law that would cut off all foreign funding for organizations in Zimbabwe that work to "promote and protect human rights," as there is practically no funding available from inside the impoverished country.

13.12.2004 The Zimbabwe Parliament has passed the infamous NGO Act into law. Amnesty fears that local human rights organisations will close, leaving victims of the regime with nowhere to turn for help.

13.12.2004 Charity groups in Zimbabwe have adopted a wait-and-see approach since a controversial bill placing severe restrictions on the activities of foreign-funded NGOs was passed by parliament.

08.12.2004 In response to criticism of the exodus of vital Malawi health workers to UK private health clinics, the Department for International Development has come up with a package to increase local salaries.

06.12.2004 Zambia has signed and committed herself to achieving, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. The progress report has clearly outlined the fact that although a few attempts have been made towards the realisation of these goals, the country is still a long way from fully achieving any of them. Resource mobilisation has been singled out as the major challenge that Zambia continues to face including participation by all stakeholders through the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) and the National Transitional Development Plan.

04.12.2004 Top government and UN officials were on hand as 100 pistols and rifles were set ablaze to mark the start of a four-year soldier reintegration program in Burundi. Over 50,000 former soldiers and rebel fighters are expected to participate in a ten-day training program and be provided with capital to help start a business on their return to civilian life.

02.12.2004 Unesco, in cooperation with the government of Kenya and UNDP, has launched the Communication and Information Policy Framework for Kenya. The five-year project aims to strengthen the use of ICTs in Kenyan society and promote its use to build a transparent and accountable public sector in the country.

02.12.2004 While authorities have remained tight-lipped about whether or not Rwandan soldiers have actually entered the eastern Congo to dispel Rwandan rebels they believe to be assembled there, humanitarian and religious officials are reporting that thousands of civilians have already been displaced by fighting and at least seven villages have been burned.

02.12.2004 One member of parliament called the makeup of the new cabinet--appointed Wednesday--"an injustice against Somali women" because only one of 31 members is female. Some analysts are skeptical that a cabinet of that size can govern effectively, although the assembly of any government at all is considered a positive step for the country, which has suffered through anarchy and warlordism since 1991.