NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

ZIMBABWE: Poverty Alleviation Scheme Targets Kids

HARARE, 30 September 2011 (IRIN) - Orphans and vulnerable children from more than 80,000 households in Zimbabwe are set to benefit from a three-year government and donor-funded programme to cushion them from the worst effects of poverty. Led by Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Labour and Social Services with support from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the governments of the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, and the European Commission (EC), the National Action Plan for Orphans and...

Source

IRIN (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Malawi?s Solar Micro-finance Initiative Builds Business for Women Entrepreneurs

(WNN) Kasungu, Malawi: In the small landlocked southeastern African nation of Malawi only 8% of its growing 15.263 million people are connected to the national power grid, a source of power that has become increasingly unreliable. For many women and their families this often means only one thing - complete darkness at night or limited light generated only by candles or kerosene lamps. Being a woman in one of the poorest countries in the world carries with it many burden...

Source

Women News Network (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

UNCDF?s MicroLead partners The MasterCard Foundation

The MasterCard Foundation in partnership with the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) launched the expansion of the successful MicroLead program at the 5th Annual African Microfinance Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The $23.5 million six year project will increase access to microfinance, particularly savings services, to 450 000 low income people in Sub- Saharan Africa. The MicroLead expansion has selected a minimum of eight institutions to enable microfinance leaders to establish ...

Source

Microfinance Focus (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Swiss Re Policies Help Cholera Victims in Haiti, Poor Farmers in Africa

Global reinsurer Swiss Re is introducing business interruption coverage in case of cholera outbreaks for women entrepreneurs in Haiti. Swiss Re, together with Mercy Corps and Fonkoze, the largest microfinance organization in Haiti, are introducing a new cholera insurance program. The coverage ensures rapid payout once a pre-defined set of criteria are met. These include cholera-related hospital admissions and observable weather factors linked to cholera outbreaks. Cholera first appeared...

Source

Insurance Journal (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nut Farmers in Ghana Crack into Mobile Technology

Today is a day that I’ve been anticipating for weeks; ever since I found out I was going to host a group of international reporters in Ghana. My thoughts have ranged from excitement to anxiety to trepidation and back around again. After extensive preparation in the form of vaccinations, planning, research and shopping, the time to execute is finally here. As I get ready to join, host and escort nine international journalists through Ghana, a country that I’ve never been to and u...

Source

Forbes (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dies at 71

NAIROBI, Kenya - Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist who started out by paying poor women a few shillings to plant trees and went on to become the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, died late on Sunday after battling cancer. She was 71. Mrs. Maathai, one of the most famous and widely respected women on the continent, wore many hats - environmentalist, feminist, politician, professor, rabble-rouser, human rights advocate and head of the ...

Source

The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

African Forest Policies Crowned Best in World

The prize is awarded annually by the World Future Council, a foundation that brings the interests of future generations to the centre of policy making. The jury which decided on the winning policies was composed of experts on sustainability and forests from all five continents. Runners-up were forest policies from Bhutan, Nepal and Switzerland. The US Lacey Act’s 2008 amendment, which bans the import of illegally harvested wood, received the second Silver Award. Rw...

Source

AfricaNews.com (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Education

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Safe Toilets Could Prevent Sexual Assault and Sickness, Say South Africa’s Poor

"Sorry. I was delayed - a woman was raped on her way to the toilet this morning," said Alakhe Mbuku. Distressed and arriving late, Mbuku, from Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, had been due to deliver her speech at the sanitation summit on Thursday called by the Social Justice Coalition. But that was all she said. The SJC had brought together religious leaders, trade ...

Source

Guardian.co.uk (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa