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Women Lead the Way in the Struggle Against Swaziland’s HIV Crisis
Siphiwe Hlophe’s shrewd, enterprising spirit is apparent within moments of meeting her. "You work for Comic Relief?" she says. "Brilliant! I might walk away from this meeting with some money." Hlophe, a Swazi woman living with HIV, wants the money for the charity she directs, Swaziland for Positive Living (Swapol), which supports rural communities affected by HIV. Her resourcefulness is striking in a country where women are denied the right to re...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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In Famine, Vouchers Can Be Tickets to Survival
The town of Dhobley, Somalia, sits at the gateway of hell. Just west of Dhobley is the border with Kenya, and the road to Dadaab, which hosts a giant complex of refugee camps; Dhobley has become the last stop in Somalia for a growing stream of desperate, starving people in flight from famine. In Dhobley, as well, drought has ruined crops and felled cows. There is no government to help. The town is a battleground; control of Dhobley has teetered between the Shabaa...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Battling Poverty With Tiny Bits of Cash
Bishoftu - At the outskirts of this town, 45 kilometres south of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, Aselefech Desalegn fights the flames she uses for baking enjera, Ethiopia’s staple flatbread. Like millions of poor Ethiopian women, she is also constantly battling to feed her children. In recent years her livelihood has been supplying enjera to hotels in the town. "Except for the chair you see over there, all you see in the house comes from Buusaa Gonofaa," she says, referring to t...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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GBF, LGT Venture Philanthropy Partner to Employ iCats Program
The Grassroots Business Fund (GBF), a global organization that provides investment capital and capacity building to businesses that create economic opportunities at the base of the pyramid, announces that it will be partnering with LGT Venture Philanthropy ( LGT VP ) to employ their iCats Fellowship Program. Chosen through a selective application process, iCats Fellows will be placed with GBF’s portfolio companies. Two GBF iCats Fell...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Malaria Scientist Celebrates Success After 24 Years
For Joe Cohen, a GlaxoSmithKline research scientist who has spent 24 years trying to create the world's first malaria vaccine, Tuesday, October 18, 2011 goes down as a fabulous day.
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- solar
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How Businesses Can Excel as the Poor Shift to Buying in Small Packs
My colleague expressed shock at the price of packaged mushrooms in supermarkets in Eastlands compared to those in Westlands in Nairobi. The price for the same product was almost double in Eastlands compared to Westlands. She was surprised at the pricing logic, but this is just a poverty penalty. I explained that the rich always pay less than the poor in many circumstances. Micro finance institutions charge higher interest rates for loans than mainstream banks while shylocks ...
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Women Seen Key to Solving Hunger Issues in Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa faces daunting problems staving off famine in coming decades but food and development experts also say one solution to the problem is obvious: empower women. "They are the major producers of food crops in Africa. If we want to make a real headway on food production, we should be able to invest in women, improve their skills and access to the inputs they require," said Namanga Ngongi, president, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a top seed producer. ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Elumelu Sees Impact Through Large-Scale Entrepreneurship
Tony Elumelu, who made a meteoric rise as a banking executive before retiring last year, knows what he’d like to accomplish with his new initiatives. "One of my greatest joys would be to look back and say I’ve helped to create ten or a hundred very successful African entrepreneurs," the 48-year-old Nigerian said during an interview in late August at the end of an event-packed visit to East Africa. ...
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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