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Tag: Africa


An initiative to protect and promote forests is a welcome move, writes Oghenechovwen Oghenekevwe, 18, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Warri in Nigeria, but is being threatened by some countries’ failure to sign on – and by a push for competing development. Professor Wangari Muta Maathai was a Kenyan and African heroine. From the 70s till …

“Forest conservation needs more effort” Read More »

The UN has adopted the Convention Against Torture, but Ronald Tukachungurwa, 25, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Kampala in Uganda, argues that states must do more to ensure they are in compliance with the UN and constitutional laws. On certain Ugandan streets, billboards are hung with a message condemning torture, while in hospitals, schools, police stations …

“The law says nobody deserves to be tortured” Read More »

The pressing issue of world hunger prompted one individual to make a remarkable effort, writes Alabidun Sarat, 22, a Correspondent from Lagos in Nigeria, who describes the work of a Lagos business woman. On realising that there were more than 795 million hungry people in the world and a startling number of Nigerian children were malnourished, …

“Working locally to eradicate world hunger” Read More »

The campaign against FGM is reaching out to a wider audience, writes Oluwasegun Olakoyenikan, 23, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Benin City, Nigeria, who describes advocacy training for a network of social media users in southern Nigeria. Due to the increasing number of social media users in Nigeria and the need to reach out to them, …

“Workshop engages social media users” Read More »

Diversity is a valued quality, writes Chanda Katema, 19, a Correspondent from Lusaka in Zambia now studying in India, but living with diversity can challenge one’s perceptions. In the middle of the conversation I stand wondering what is going on. Perhaps it’s just another language I don’t comprehend. Diversity is something to be proud of, but I …

“Considering the adversity of diversity” Read More »

Africa is a continent blessed with both human and mineral resources, large enough to make it self-sufficient, but Emmanuel Olutokun, 23, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Lagos in Nigeria writes that the reality seems to be in discord with statistics and expectations. It is known that the problems confronting my continent are not corruption or mismanagement …

“Leaders do much more than magic” Read More »

The media’s job is to challenge institutions on behalf of the public interest. But Aisha Anne Habiba, 27, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Mombasa in Kenya, raises concern about restrictions on media curtail that ability. Media houses in Kenya are facing increasing pressure from ordinances that interfere with the concept of media freedom. Though Kenya has …

“Censorship as antithetical to public interest” Read More »

The issue of street kids has earned the attention of government authorities and policy makers, yet it remains a growing challenge in African cities and towns, writes Kiiza Saddam Hussein, 26, a Correspondent who lives in Uganda and Rwanda. When you talk to someone from western countries about street kids as an issue they might …

“Concerted effort needed to help street kids” Read More »

Discrediting reporting by journalists has become the norm rather than the exception in Kenya, as the government keeps placing roadblocks on the work of journalists, writes Aisha Anne Habiba, 27, a Correspondent from Mombasa in Kenya.  Media houses in Kenya are facing increasing unorthodox ordinances in an attempt to gag them. Draconian laws enacted by …

“Censorship in Kenya: A nation plunged into information darkness” Read More »

The shift towards a more peaceful world order rests squarely on the shoulders of young people, writes Bryan Obaji, 27, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Calabar in Nigeria.   The modern world is becoming smaller, highly integrated and technologically more advanced. It also becoming highly fragmented, less peaceful, and unsafe for both present and future generations. …

“Today’s young people must act as agents of peace” Read More »