Full Coverage: West Africa

31.10.2005 Faced with impossible conditions for holding elections, a proposal by the U.N. and the African Union has allowed Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo to stay in office for up to 12 months, despite opposition from some citizens. The country continues in a state of "no war, no peace," as it has since a failed insurgency three years ago.

31.10.2005 In anticipation of renewed fighting with rebel forces, the Ivorian government is recruiting Liberian children alongside hundreds of other former combatants in Liberia’s civil war, said leading human rights group.

28.10.2005 A season of public art, film, music, theatre, poetry and debate is being held in London, 21 October-10 November to mark the 10th anniversary of the executions of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight colleagues.

26.10.2005 A pochi giorni dalla fine ufficiale del mandato presidenziale di Laurent Gbagbo, Amnesty International ha reso noto il proprio timore che, se un accordo politico non sarà trovato al più presto sulla nuova struttura del potere in Costa d’Avorio, le tensioni attuali determinino una ripresa delle ostilità e, di conseguenza, una crisi umanitaria e gravi violazioni dei diritti umani. “Senza dubbio mai, dall’indipendenza del paese, così tante incognite hanno pesato sull’avvenire della Costa d’Avorio. È dovere di tutti evitare che il paese non precipiti in un caos che potrebbe comportare la destabilizzazione prolungata di tutta la regione” – ha dichiarato Javier Gonzalez Diez, coordinatore Costa d’Avorio della Sezione Italiana di Amnesty International. Ieri il Fronte popolare ivoriano del presidente Ggbago ha invitato tutti i partiti a "non sprecare tempo" nella scelta del nuovo capo del governo, che dovrebbe essere gradito a tutte le forze politiche. Il mandato di Gbagbo scade oggi: il 30 ottobre si sarebbero dovute svolgere elezioni presidenziali utili a risolvere la crisi iniziata col tentato golpe del settembre 2002, ma sono state rinviate per la lentezza del processo di pace

26.10.2005 New mothers in Madagascar and Ghana have begun to hear about the importance of breastfeeding from many different sources--including their favorite singer--and the results are already beginning to show.

24.10.2005 The UK Government has backed down in the face of demands that it stop using aid money to fund privatisation public relations in the world's second poorest country.

23.10.2005 Africa's most populous country and the world's fifth largest oil supplier reached an agreement to greatly reduce its debt burden Thursday. The deal, however, will still force Nigeria to pay more in debt service than for health care over the next two years, even as 100 million of its citizens live on less than a dollar a day and the country struggles with a 5% HIV rate.

21.10.2005 A £10 billion debt relief deal for Nigeria might be undermined by negative conditions, a leading development group has warned.

20.10.2005 As Liberia awaits the verdict of the polls, exiled president Charles Taylor remains an unspoken force to be reckoned with, says Katharine Houreld.

19.10.2005 With 95% of returns counted in Liberia's historic presidential election and the two front-runners in a close tie, Liberians are now expecting to return to the polls for a November 8 run-off. They will choose between a former soccer star and a female Harvard-educated economist.

13.10.2005 After an enthusiastic voter turnout for the first Liberian elections since the end of civil war in 2003, citizens across the nation are glued to their radios, hanging on any bit of news about preliminary results. With many polling stations located in rural and hard-to-reach areas, official results are not expected for another 3-7 days.

13.10.2005 The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative will launch a report Police Accountability: Too Important to Neglect, Too Urgent to Delay on October 13th at 6:30 pm at the British Council, Accra, Ghana.

13.10.2005 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure of Osun State government in Nigeria will be commissioned soon.

12.10.2005 Si sono ormai chiusi i seggi delle prime elezioni presidenziali e politiche dalla fine della drammatica guerra civile che ha causato 250.000 morti e mezzo milione di profughi. Le elezioni, che si sono svolte dopo un sanguinoso conflitto conclusosi con gli accordi di pace del 2003 e con la cacciata del presidente Charles Taylor, sono un'opportunità storica per liberare il paese da un ciclo di violenza e instabilità. In tutti questi anni, anche durante i momenti peggiori del conflitto, ActionAid International è rimasta in Liberia.

12.10.2005 130 miljoonan asukkaan Nigeriassa toivotaan ilmaisen kouluaterian houkuttelevan lapsia koulun penkille. Tällä hetkellä peruskoulun ulkopuolelle jää maassa noin 7 miljoonaa lasta. Keino saattaa hyvinkin toimia, sillä Nigerian opetusministeriön mukaan lähes puolet maan 7-15-vuotiaista on alipainoisia.

11.10.2005 Regulators from 15 West African nations agreed to a common regulatory framework for their national ICT markets during a three-day validation workshop held last month in Geneva.

10.10.2005 The telecommunications industry in Ghana has been described as one of the fastest growing on the African continent, as significant milestones have been achieved recently.

07.10.2005 AfriHUB, a project embarked upon to provide digital access to Nigerian tertiary institutions maintains that the centres built in Nigerian universities would be used to develop the Universal Mandatory IT Training (UMITT).

07.10.2005 Ninety teachers from Central, Western and Volta Regions of Africa would by the end of the year undergo ICT training to prepare students for the "i2cap"ICT Competition scheduled to take place at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in November and December 2005. The coordinator of the project, Mr. Ebenezer Kye-Mensah said.

07.10.2005 Suomen Pakolaisapu on kohta kahden vuoden ajan kouluttanut aikuisia lukemaan yhdessä maailman köyhimmistä maista, Sierra Leonessa. Lukutaidolla on valtava merkitys itsetunnon ja tasa-arvon kohottajana. Se muuttaa asenteita. Aiemmin täysin ulkopuolisen avun varassa eläneet ihmiset tarttuvat kehitykseen omatoimisesti.