The world’s largest refugee camp: what is the future for Dadaab?

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  Advin Arnby Machata/ GSDM West Africa Dadaab, the 20-year-old refugee camp spawned by the Somali Civil War, has become a perpetual humanitarian disaster, with thousands of people malnourished, without shelter or any means of subsistence. Providing what little health care and social services there are in the camps still costs the Kenyan government and […]

Helena Lutege: A female entrepreneur transforming the lives of thousands in Tanzania

Helena, the BELITA founder, standing in front of the servant's quarter's old BELITA office.

Mrs. Helena Lutege is an inspiring women entrepreneur in Tanzania. Coming from a background characterised by poverty, she was determined to work hard to break through and live a decent life. Helena is the founder of Better Life for Tanzanians Trust Fund (BELITA), a microfinance organisation which she started eight years ago to provide financial services to small entrepreneurs, especially women, in Tanzania. Helena was born […]

The Shrinking Space For Press Freedoms In Burundi

(Photo Credit: James Belgrave)

Burundi, a country praised in recent years for its free and dynamic press and active civil society, is witnessing a worrying deterioration in media freedom. Reporters Without Borders’ annual Press Freedom Index reveals a startling trend in this country located in the heart of the African Great Lakes region: between 2008 and 2011 Burundi slipped […]

DRC Diary: A Reflection From The Field.

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Emily Cavan Lynch, Global South Development Magazine’s country correspondent for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also works for an international relief organization as a public health consultant. In this article Emily shares her everyday experience in the DR Congo and presents a holistic picture of a war trodden society that is struggling to overcome […]

The Democratic Republic of Congo: A Historical Timeline

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The Democratic Republic of the Congo is not officially at war, but for decades the ordinary Congolese haven’t experienced an essence of peace either. After years of bloodshed and devastation, the DRC is staggering towards normalcy, but after brief intervals the country finds itself rebound into violent conflicts again and again. This Spring 2012 edition […]

NGO in Focus: African Initiatives – Empowering Tanzania’s Girls

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In Tanzania, there is a large disparity between boys’ and girls’ school enrollment and performance. GSDM catches up with African Initiatives, a shining example of effective solutions that empower Tanzania’s girls in the face of widespread sexual abuse and cultural preference for educating boys. Widespread gender disparity in educational attainment in Tanzania is due to a […]

Hunger in the Desert

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The fate of the toddler girl, until today, is still unknown. The image of the emaciated unclothed crawling girl is still fresh in many people’s minds. With her knees bended, elbows firmly placed on the ground; hands clutching the barren land and her head sunken in despair below the scorching sun the picture stunned the […]