A general lack of awareness of legal provisions within the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) remains one of the key challenges in implementing the Act almost six years after it came into force in July 2006. A report on the implementation of the Act further mentions withdrawal of cases from the formal justice system due to [...]

Lessons learnt from Rwanda’s 1994 genocide period has pushed the country to adopt a holistic approach in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV), making it a model country in addressing GBV in conflict and post conflict settings. A two-day workshop convened in Kigali, in November 2011 brought together participants from 13 countries in the [...]

Generating awareness and interest in proven social health financing and comprehensive health systems strengthening mechanisms was among the key recommendations at the 1st Pan-African Health Congress held in Accra Ghana in November. The Congress under the theme “creating a movement for universal coverage in health for Africa” was attended by representatives of Ministries of Health, [...]

A conference on Female Genital Mutilation/Circumcision (FGM/C) has recommended the set-up of an African Coordinating Centre on Research and Training for ending FGM/C.  The rationale for The African Centre for Research and Leadership Training for the Abandonment of FGM/C would be to support strengthening of leadership and research capacity of FGM/C issues in Africa by [...]

Enhancing skills of  policy actors in the health sector in applying Human Rights Based Approaches to Health Sector Reform, and targeting those working in development fields at the national level with state actors or non-state institutions, as well as bilateral and multi-lateral donor agencies are prime concerns of the Ireland training programme.  Individuals and organizations [...]

The Foundation of the German section of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) has organized the 2011 XIIIth Humanitarian Congress to be held on the 28-29 October 2011 in Berlin, Germany. This year, the conference will focus on “Ideals, Reality and Compromises: Do We Meet Humanitarian Needs”?

The Global threat of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) also referred to life-style diseases is becoming real for Kenya after the Prime Minister called for mainstreaming of NCD into the national strategic plans. Speaking during the launch of the first National Forum on Non-Communicable Diseases in Nairobi on August 23, 2011, the Prime Minister also urged Kenyans [...]

The need to come up with sustainable models of financing GBV medical and legal services was touted as a key recommendation of a study validation workshop on GBV. The study commissioned by the GIZ Good Governance Programme also recommended the need to push the Ministry of Medical Services to ensure gazettment of the Post Rape Care Form which [...]

“I drew this compass as a symbol of the impact of ARVs on my life: thanks to the ARVs I am able to move in all directions I want, from north to south, east to west, so they gave me back my self-determination’, says 34 year old Mary as she proudly looks at her colorful [...]

A Global Status Report on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) 2010 indicates that developing countries are hardest hit by deaths caused by NCD. The report produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that 80% of NCD deaths occur in low and middle-income countries.  Statistics further reveal that 63% of deaths worldwide in 2008 were due to [...]