Full Coverage: West Africa

27.12.2004 FAO and UNICEF commissioned a study to assess the feasibility of building a network to connect some 20 radio stations in the rural areas of Niger and finally link the network to internet. The need to conduct a technology assessment for selecting the appropriate media for creating the network has been emphasised.

22.12.2004 Little violence, no reported cheating and a fantastic 83% turnout. Ghana's recent parliamentary election proves that Africa can do democracy just as well if not better than European countries.

22.12.2004 Just weeks after the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended the complete abolition of the death penalty and days after neighboring Senegal did away with the practice, Sierra Leone's High Court sentenced ten to death for treason Monday.

20.12.2004 Most rural homes in Ghana still have no access to electricity, but a pilot project is hoping to change that--and improve the local job market--by developing a local wind-turbine manufacturing industry.

16.12.2004 The UN plans to lift sanctions on Liberian timber and diamonds. Global Witness argues that the country lacks institutions and infrastructure to regulate these industries, leaving the way open for conflict trade and a breakdown in the fragile peace.

16.12.2004 There is an instant buzz around the Togolese fishing village of Zone du Port when the local Red Cross volunteers arrive to raise awareness about the measles vaccines and malaria bednets that will soon be distributed.

15.12.2004 Kirkon Ulkomaanavun kuvamatkalla tutustutaan liberialaiseen Jah Tondon pakolaisleiriin. Vaikka maan sisäiset pakolaiset ovat kokeneet kovia sodassa ja elävät leirissä erittäin vaikeissa olosuhteissa, he jaksavat haaveilla paremmasta tulevaisuudesta. Kirkon Ulkomaanapu tekee työtä pakolaisten hyväksi Jah Tondossa yhteistyökumppaninsa Luterilaisen maailmanliiton välityksellä.

14.12.2004 Aid workers expect to reach 95 percent of Togo's young children--nealry 1 million of them--with a campaign to prevent several of the worst childhood killers, all at a cost of only $6 million and free of charge to the local community. Launched Monday, the pilot program is being closely monitored by the international aid community in hopes that it can be replicated elsewhere.

14.12.2004 School enrolment for girls in northern Nigeria presents a challenge to the Millennium Development Goal related to gender disparity in education. A new £26m project aims to overcome the cultural constraints involved.

13.12.2004 Energetic Solutions, an international conference on making renewable energy a reality, was held in Calabar, Abuja and the Niger Delta in Nigeria in November. This conference included representatives from Africa, the Americas -- including Canada -- and Europe. It was a success with over 100 participants in Abuja and 65 for the conference's duration.

08.12.2004 A new peace deal has been agreed in Cote d'Ivoire with the government promising legal changes to open the door to opposition political candidates and rebels agreeing to disarm. No dates have yet been fixed for each side to follow through and mistrust abounds, but President Mbeki--the agreement's broker--is confident this deal is for real.

07.12.2004 Amid the gloomy news about the continuing spread of HIV/AIDS and other deadly infectious diseases, a major Washington-based development group is touting a new study that highlights what might be considered in less fraught times to be monumental advances in fighting threats to human health in poor countries.

07.12.2004 In the second seperate incident in five days, locals from Nigeria's Rivers State have occupied and shut down Chevron/Texaco and Shell Oil facilities, demanding that their communities begin to reap some of the economic benefits from the 90,000 barrels of oil that is taken from their land everyday.

07.12.2004 The IICD telecentre pilot project started in Mali in 2002. According to the analysis, while local expertise has done away with technological problems, the international evaluators are working on a financial strategy to reduce dependence on heavy donor funding.