Africa Matters

As anti-gay sentiment grows, more LGBTQ+ people seek to flee Uganda

Story by By EVELYNE MUSAMBI and BRIAN INGANGA, Associated Press • NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Pretty Peter flicked through frantic messages from friends at home in Uganda. The transgender woman is relatively safe in neighboring Kenya. Her friends feel threatened by the latest anti-gay legislation in Uganda prescribing the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” Frightened Ugandans are searching for…

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Museveni urges MPs to ‘reconsider’ anti-gay bill

President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday called on Ugandan MPs to “reconsider” draconian anti-gay legislation passed by parliament last month and widely condemned in the West. The Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023 promises harsh penalties against anyone who engages in same-sex activity. “I return the bill to Parliament for reconsideration,” Museveni wrote in a letter to the house. The president has faced widespread…

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Tanzanians living in Sudan are safe, says Foreign Affairs Minister

Summary Dr Stergomena Tax, the minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, said so far no Tanzanian living in Sudan has been affected by the fight Dodoma. The government yesterday allayed fears over the safety of Tanzanians in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Dr Stergomena Tax, the minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, said so far no…

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UN Recommends To Prioritize Women’s Reproductive Health Over Growing Population Concerns

The United Nations suggested on Wednesday that instead of focusing solely on the growing global population, it is imperative to consider women’s reproductive rights to bolster “demographic resilience.” The UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, has recognized that there is a significant level of concern regarding the global population, expected to reach a maximum of approximately 10.4 billion…

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Real-world consequences of disinforming young people

Summary Inclination to violence and brutality, identity crises, perversion, and distaste of education and religion, are all being infused into societies by the use of information Globally, information has grown to become a valuable commodity for trade as well as a means of patterning societies’ and people’s lives and affairs. As such information oftentimes is potential money, as there…

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4 starve to death in Kenya while fasting ‘to meet Jesus’

__________________ Four people were on Thursday found dead and nearly a dozen others hospitalised in Kenya’s coastal Kilifi county, after being rescued while waiting the imminent end of the world. __________________ The victims who are believed to be members of Pastor Paul Mackenzie’s Good News International Church say they had been told to fast to avoid “apocalyptic damnation”, the…

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5 things you should know about the UN 2023 Water Conference

The UN 2023 Water Conference, which takes place at UN Headquarters from 22-24 March, is being hailed as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation by 2030. Water is at the core of sustainable development. It supports all aspects of life on Earth, and access to safe and clean water is a…

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Africa: School Meals Fuel Young Minds, but Most Vulnerable Still Missing Out – WFP

Nearly 420 million children across the globe receive school meals – that’s 30 million more than in 2020 – the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a new report published on Tuesday. Amid the current global food crisis, with many families struggling to put food on the table, governments are increasingly seeing the value of these initiatives, according to…

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Untold story of South African nurses who helped Tanzania after British nurses refused to work under black leadership

Summary In 1962, President Julius Nyerere asked O. R Tambo to help recruit nurses from South Africa to reduce shortages of nurses in Tanganyika A nursing sister, Kholeka Rosemond Tunyiswa, who may not be all that well known in South Africa, passed away in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on March 5, 2023. She was born in Port Elizabeth, now…

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Babycare: Why experts recommend breast over bottle

When babies do not feed directly from their mothers’ breasts during the first six months after birth, it puts them at higher risk of contracting a number of fatal diseases most significantly, diarrhoea, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). By Rodgers Otiso Diarrhoea, according to the WHO, is the leading cause of death among infants in developing countries…

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World population hits 8 billion people on November 15

A baby born somewhere on Tuesday will be the world’s eight billionth person, according to a projection by the United Nations. “The milestone is an occasion to celebrate diversity and advancements while considering humanity’s shared responsibility for the planet,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. Also read: What census data means for Tanzania The UN attributes the…

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Opinion: We can end child labour in Africa. Here’s how

With 92 million girls and boys in child labour — one in five children — Africa is the most-affected region in the world. Eliminating child labour worldwide will not be achieved without a breakthrough here. This is not justifiable. Children have the right not to work. Children trapped in child labour today are the unskilled labour force of tomorrow….

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Why Africans should be able to work anywhere on the continent

Inter-African migration is being driven by a rise in demand for skilled and semi-skilled workers in different economic sectors Because emigrants bring with them more than just economic needs from their home countries, migration is a trade stimulant in and of itself For migrants who contribute to upskilling, movement within the continent results in better-paying, more stable employment Migration…

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The Path of Mwai Kibaki

By Anthony Muchoki Emilio Stanley Kibaki was born early in the morning of November 15, 1931. Named Mwai after his uncle from the mother’s side, his parents, John Githinji Kibaki and Teresia Wanjiku, had seven other children who, like all the others in the village, would help hew wood, till the garden, milk the cows and take them out…

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There’s business case for eliminating systemic bias for gender parity

The paramountcy of overcoming systemic prejudices against women in politics, the workplace, business, and the community cannot be overstated, as it may determine whether sub-Saharan African countries succeed or fail. Post the International Women’s Day and the clarion call to break the bias, there is a mountain of data to support this viewpoint, where women pushing the envelope are stymied by…

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A life lived honorably can help change the world

By Jonathan Cook, chair of the African Management Institute A past colleague and good friend, Conrad Viedge, passed away on Saturday after battling cancer. I was considering writing this column about business ethics, and the two came together rather well. Conrad was a good man in every sense. Not only did he pay his taxes, which I am sure…

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