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Malawi
Malawi is one of Africa’s smaller countries, a little over 45,000 square miles, of which about 20 per cent is occupied by Lake Malawi – Africa’s third biggest lake. The Lake itself is a great inland sea, some 360 miles north to south and up to 50 miles wide. Much of the time this tideless, freshwater lake gently laps the golden beaches which ...
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Kenya
Very few countries in Africa can stand shoulder to shoulder with Kenya, in terms of general popularity to tourists from far-flung places. Kenya simply outshines most because it is blessed with a vast array of natural beauty spots, mountain ranges, beaches, wild animal reserves, moorlands reminiscent of European highlands and abundant bird life ...
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03 July IMF refuses aid to Zimbabwe
The International Monetary Fund has told Zimbabwe that it will not provide the country with more funds until its existing $1bn debts are settled.
Zimbabwe's government estimates it will need $10bn (£6bn) of foreign aid to help rebuild its battered economy.
But the IMF said that Zimbabwe would need to clear its debts and show a sustained record of sound policies before it could give financing.
China, one of the few countries to retain economic support for Zimbabwe in recent years, recently agreed to give the country a loan of $950m.
The IMF said that Zimbabwe's economic policies had improved and a "nascent economic recovery appears to be under way".
Earlier this month Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai visited the US and Europe in an attempt to raise funding for the struggling nation.
The US promised $73m in aid while the UK pledged to boost its funding by about $8m, taking its total to $98m for the year. Tsvangirai said he had received pledges totalling $500m during his trip.
03 July Nigaz name carries ‘racist connotation’
A marketing blunder in Nigeria has got online communities all of a twitter, after a joint oil and gas venture with Russia was named Nigaz.
Russia's Gazprom and Nigeria's state-operated NNPC formed the company - pronounced "nye-gaz" - last week.
Nigerians No Nigaz, a group formed on the social networking site Facebook, says the name could be pronounced in a way offensive to black people. Users of Twitter have also expressed disbelief at the decision.
"Russian & Nigerian companies have formed new oil firm called... Nigaz. I'm not lying," says Osa Oyegun, under her Twitter name ChocolateMezzo.
The topic has prompted hundreds of tweets.
Henry Makiwa, known as makiwahenry, said: "Lol [laugh out loud] of the day: Russian/Nigerian oil conglomerate has had PR branding blunder after naming joint company 'Nigaz'."
Reports say despite the hoo-ha caused online, newspapers in Nigeria have not picked up on the story yet.
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 03 July African health ministers resolve to improve women, child health
African Ministers of Health have endorsed a Call to Action resolution aimed at improving the health of women and children worldwide.
The resolution was taken at a meeting in Addis Ababa today where delegates from 42 African nations met this week.
A press statement from United Nations Population Fund (unfpa) said the Call to Action decried the chronic shortage in the number of skilled health workers in Africa who can deliver life-saving interventions.
“There are fewer than five doctors for every 100,000 people on the continent, and each year 20,000 health professionals abandon their posts in rural areas in pursuit of jobs in urban areas or abroad,” the statement noted. “The consequence of this migration of health workers is disproportionately felt by the poorest and most marginalised people.”
During the four-day meeting, more than 350 participants including heath ministers and health programme managers, noted that poor access to reproductive health care, including family planning, and to quality care during pregnancy, are contributory factors in the deaths of half a million women and over a million newborns every year.
By endorsing the Call to Action, delegates committed to ensuring that national human resource plans address the critical shortage of trained health professionals and the specific skills required to save mothers and newborns.
In his closing remarks Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,(pictured) urged his colleagues to be creative in seeking solutions to the tragedy of maternal mortality and morbidity in Africa.
“Let us train more health workers and introduce financial and non-financial incentives to retain them, as part of a comprehensive strategy that addresses the health system in each country,” he advised.
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