Africa

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Sending Money is Just a Text Away

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A Diamond in the Rough

Botswana is the home to the world's most richest diamond mine, and produces more gem quality stones than any country on the planet. But when it began renegotiating mining contracts in 2006, Botswana decided it no longer wished to depend on mining giant De Beers for

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The World's Next Breadbasket

Could Africa be the world's next breadbasket?

Plumpy’nut is frequently used by humanitarian agencies in emergency malnutrition situations. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

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Fortifying Foods To Fight Malnutrition in Africa

Humanitarian agencies have long been using protein and energy bars filled with nutrients and vitamins when responding to food emergencies.

A group of men plant crops in Kenya. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/2628528653/">World Bank Photo Collection (flickr)</a>

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U.S. Promotes Agricultural Sustainability in Africa

Earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack reiterated the United States' commitment to reduce Africa's dependence on food aid and promote agricultural sustainability while in Nairobi, Kenya. Vilsack said the U.S.

Many African countries, like Madagascar pictured here, are increasingly leasing land to foreign firms, but critics argue the deals are exploitative. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/goukely/1372969345/">goukley (flickr)</a>

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Who will profit from 'land grabbing'?

A million hectares in Uganda. Some 690,000 hectares in Sudan. And 500,000 hectares in Tanzania. These are just a few of the numbers that have appeared on the bargaining table in the past year as foreign firms scramble for land leases in Africa.

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Research Shows Africa's Crops in Danger of Global Warming

Watch out for blanket statements about all of Africa - it's a huge continent and we've recently written quite a bit about sub-Saharan Africa being a potential breadbasket.

Is there a quote from the article that sets up the study findings?

A new mobile technology is helping battle HIV in Biwindi, Uganda where most people walked days through the tough terrain to get medical care. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/youngrobv/2282046318/">youngrobv (Rob & Ale)</a>

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Uganda's New Mobile Technology

Could you imagine having to walk a full day to get medical care, and then wait weeks to learn your test results?

A young girl walking on the outskirts of Kibera, the largest slum in Africa. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lo_/402495067/in/photostream">subcomandanta (flickr)</a>

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Is Foreign Aid Helping Or Hurting Africa?

More than $50 billion of foreign aid is given to African countries every year to address poverty on the continent.

Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hdptcar/2497649932/">hdptcar (flickr)</a>

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Can The Economic Crisis Be Good For Africa?

It’s not easy to find something good to say about the global economic downturn, but a former World Bank economist claims that there is a possible bright spot.

The information from the soil map could help this Tanzanian woman farm with better fertilzers and increase her harvest. Photo: vredeseilanden (flickr)

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Mapping for Change

We have elevation maps, weather maps, and population maps. So why not soil maps? It may be the key to the food security of an entire continent.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu sees hope for Africa with Obama's Presidency. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wa-j/2407292423/">Joshua Wanyama (flickr)</a>

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Africa's Hopes for President Obama

Since the beginning of the presidential election, President Obama has always had tremendous support from African nations because of his Kenyan roots.

African roads don't always facilitate the fast flow of goods. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hdptcar/1047758945/">Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team in the Central African Republic (flickr)</a>

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Logistics in Africa

Did you know that it costs more to ship a ton of wheat from Kenya to neighboring Uganda than it does to ship it across the Atlantic?

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A Triple Threat: Food, Fuel and Financial Crises in the Developing World

First, food and fuel prices skyrocketed, causing serious problems for families in the developing world. Now, the worldwide credit crisis has delivered yet another serious blow to the economic outlook for low and middle-income countries.

Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/swissfrog/632096066/">Swiss.frog's photostream (flickr)</a>

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The Gift that Keeps Giving

Working Villages International (WVI) is an NGO with a unique take on how to eliminate poverty in Africa. Their new initiative, Village Reliance, aims to combat poverty directly, rather than dealing only with its effects.