In Aidwatch:Is Ethiopia having a famine? As often is the case, there are two forces pulling in opposite directions that make it hard to answer the question...On the one hand, the authoritarian government wants to cover up any famine to mute criticism of its performance...On the other hand, NGOs have... [view entry]

Bubacarr Sankanu writes in Africa CouncilThe prophets of intolerance cannot seriously claim to be defending African Values as all the monotheistic religions they are using to argue are foreign imports. It is the serious Voodoo Practitioners like those of the Republic of Benin who can talk about defending the true... [view entry]

Scientific African"...aims to disseminate scientific content from Africa and to enhance the visibility and accessibility of African scholarly material on the Internet - adhering to a strict copyright policy, a commitment to the principles of Open Archives and Open Access, and a long-term (self-)archival system. The organisation is working toward... [view entry]

Nicholas N. Kofie writes in 'Voices' a world forum for music therapy:Music (therapy) has been part of the Ghanaian traditional healer's stock-in-trade. Music accompanies the priest's suite (of dances) and increases in intensity up to the point when the priest/priestess enters the semi-conscious trance state and starts to communicate with... [view entry]

Emmanuel Ashong-Katai of Ghana's SEC writes:...the unlisted securities market holds much promise for the private sector and the growth of the national economy. Its effective and efficient development will unleash the creative potential of the Ghanaian private sector by turning ideas and inventions into marketable products both locally and internationally... [view entry]

Chude Jideonwo writes about the challenges of the fashion industry in Farafina:“Every designer’s work in Nigeria is couture,” Debbie Ogunjobi of Everywoman stores in Lagos said a few years ago, “because, there’s no ability to mass produce.”...he challenge lies in bringing back the spark, and with the new spark, a... [view entry]

Fatima Sadiqi writes in Common Ground News Service:Women in North Africa have made tremendous progress in promoting and upholding their rights. Women in this region—commonly known as the Maghreb—are at the forefront of the Arab world in terms of individual rights and gender equality, and constitute models for other Arab... [view entry]

From their website:The mission of Sierra Visions, Inc, is to foster social reform and economic development in Sierra Leone, and ultimately West Africa.Our vision is that Sierra Leone (West Africa) could be developed using our Five-T model which focuses on five core areas or initiatives: educaTion, Technology, YouTh, healTh, environmenT,... [view entry]

James Shikwati writes in African Executive:A redefinition of development to put Africans at the center of determining what they need (and not what they have been taught to need) is crucial. In an East African Community forum in Arusha recently, delegates sought to know how the "One Laptop Per Child"... [view entry]

Adam Nossiter writes in the NYTimes:It is not a good time to be French in Francophone Africa, except if you are a high official from Paris privately visiting a strongman’s palace. As democracy slips in country after country in the region, France often quietly sides, once again, with the once-and-future... [view entry]