By Miriam Gathigah

Settlers dig trenches in the Mau Forest to divert water to irrigate their illegal farm plots. / Miriam Gathigah/IPS

NAIROBI, Nov 25 (IPS) – The resettlement of evictees from Kenya’s Mau Forest remains a humanitarian and environmental concern for the country as more than 25,000 people continue to live in camps around [...]

By Kristin Palitza *
 

Rooibos plants are severely threatened by climate change. / Kristin Palitza/IPS

CAPE TOWN, Nov 24 (IPS) – South Africa’s Rooibos tea has become a popular drink all around the globe. But prices of the herbal brew could shoot up within the next decade, as the Rooibos plant can only grow in one [...]

Buruli ulcer is a tropical disease reported in about 30 countries, including Ghana, where doctors are this year predicting about 1,000 cases. Credit: Paul Carlucci/IPS

By Paul Carlucci and Henrietta Abayie
GREATAER ACCRA WEST DISTRICT, Ghana, Nov 24 (IPS) – For the past 10 years, Buruli ulcer has been eating Benjamin Essel’s leg. The skin above his [...]

By Andrew Green

Water stands in the roads of Bwaise after a light morning rainfall. The urban slum's drainage system is unable to handle even slight rains. / Andrew Green/IPS

KAMPALA, Nov 21 (IPS) – Life in Bwaise – a slum on the outskirts of the capital of Uganda – has never been easy. But increasingly [...]

By Kristin Palitza

African cities are prone to feeling the effects of climate change. / Einberger/argum/EED/IPS

CAPE TOWN, Nov 18 (IPS) – In Africa, where urbanisation will be one of the major developments over the next few decades, it will be key for cities to figure out how to handle rapid urban expansion and much-needed [...]

By Isaiah Esipisu *
 

Residents of Kalacha proposed that water from a rare fresh-water desert spring be used to irrigate indigenous grass, which could be used as fodder. / Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

NAIROBI, Nov 18 (IPS) – When donor-funded horticultural projects failed in Kalacha village at the edge of the Chalbi Desert in North Eastern Province, Kenya, the [...]

By Meena Bhandari

Environmental damage in the Niger Delta. / Dulue Mbachu/IRIN

FREETOWN, Nov 18 (IPS) – There is a new oil rush off the coast of West Africa. But there are fears that the sector is not sufficiently regulated, and watchdog groups are raising concerns about transparency and governance in the region.

Anticipation is building in [...]

By Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar

A four-year-old girl with meningitis sleeps in a makeshift tent in Sigale camp. Her parents left her to go beg for aid. / Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar/IPS

MOGADISHU, Nov 17 (IPS) – Doctors in Mogadishu are warning that famine victims in internally displaced camps have become vulnerable to contagious diseases like cholera [...]

By Claire Ngozo

Malawi is experiencing a drug shortage. / Claire Ngozo/IPS

LILONGWE, Nov 16 (IPS) – Malawi is experiencing a drug shortage as the country’s international donors remain reluctant to release aid meant for the health sector.

About 60 million dollars in funding has been withheld amid allegations of pilfering and corruption in the procurement of [...]

By Busani Bafana

Climate change will increase water pressure on the stressed Limpopo, Nile and Volta River Basins on which more than 300 million people depend. / Busani Bafana/IPS

PRETORIA, South Africa, Nov 15 (IPS) – While Africa has successfully avoided conflict over shared water courses, it will need greater diplomacy to keep the peace as [...]

By Kristin Palitza

Sub-Saharan Africa has large potential for hydropower generation, but is yet to exploit it. / Kristin Palitza/IPS

CAPE TOWN, Nov 15 (IPS) – South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to build a major hydroelectric power project, which is said to bring electricity to more than half [...]

By Badylon Kawanda Bakiman
KIKWIT, DR Congo, Nov 12 (IPS) – The 11 candidates contesting presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo all pledge to improve peace and security in the country – promises received with varying degrees of scepticism by Congolese voters.

"Our ambition is to provide our country with 150,000 soldiers and 200,000 police [...]

By Andrew Green

The National Library of Uganda needs improved technology. / Andrew Green/IPS

KAMPALA, Nov 11 (IPS) – Simret Mebrahtu has been an infrequent visitor to the National Library of Uganda in the centre of Kampala for nearly two years. A student, she stops by every couple of weeks to use the cheap internet [...]

By Emmanuel Chaco
KINSHASA, Nov 10 (IPS) – "In truth, none of the candidates and none of the parties have a programme for society," asserts Mastaki Mushosi, one of the leaders of the National Union of Catholic School Teachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Campaigning in DRC began at the end of October for the Nov. [...]

By Robyn Leslie

Refugees say Rwanda’s problems do not stem from economics, access to land – but rather a lack of peace. / Wendy Stone/IRIN

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 9 (IPS) – They should be wary of each other. The historical conflict between their ethnicities has resulted in Africa’s largest genocide.

But Claude Kayitare sits on the [...]