In the context of the South African government's relationship with non-profits, the author of this article writes that there is growing pressure on non-profits to operate more like businesses and generate ‘earned’ income. This is being felt worldwide as governments make massive spending cuts and philanthropic giving falls in the face of global recession. 'The problem with the income-generation imperative, however, is that NPOs are established to deliver services that do not generate income. They are inherently unsuited to business as they have social development priorities that limit profitability.'

With 31 October marking the point at which the global population reaches a staggering seven billion, this National Geographic page collects a year's worth of reporting looking at all aspects of population growth - demographics, food security, climate change, fertility trends, managing biodiversity.

The families of 90,000 Nigerien migrants forced home because of the uprising in Libya face greater hunger and poverty now they no longer receive regular remittances, the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) said. The men were mostly working on construction sites and farms in Libya, which borders Niger. An IOM poll showed 86 per cent used to send enough money to support five family members in Niger, and that their return had 'an overall negative impact' on the lives of hundreds of thousands of others living in areas hit by chronic food insecurity and underemployment.

Amid the still-visible damage from election unrest in Côte d’Ivoire’s main city Abidjan is another less tangible but very real form of destruction - psychological trauma. It is difficult to say how many people need mental health care after the recent unrest, according to health experts in Côte d’Ivoire; the health ministry says it has no such figures. But health workers and residents told IRIN people seeking help with conflict-related trauma have few places to turn.

Zimbabwe's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has rejected calls by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to enshrine gay rights in a new constitution. Chinamasa told the BBC that gay rights could not be 'smuggled' into the constitution because most Zimbabweans opposed it. Earlier, Tsvangirai told the BBC that gay rights were a 'human right' that should be respected.

Political parties have welcomed President Jacob Zuma’s decision to axe Cabinet members Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Sicelo Shiceka. Zuma announced in Pretoria that Mahlangu-Nkabinde would be replaced as public works minister, and Shiceka as traditional affairs and co-operative governance minister. Zuma's government had been beset by controversy for several months. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela had urged Zuma to take strong action against those involved in leases for police office space, as well as Shiceka for his abuse of public money.

'Hungry in the City' is a collection of stories from people in developing countries around the world who explain how they are surviving in an era of higher food prices, inflation and hunger. These case studies are offered for use alongside articles on food price hikes, inflation, urban living and hunger.

Nigeria's drive to boost the quality and processing of cassava, launched two months ago as part of a larger plan to turn the country into a powerhouse for food production, now has a leading cassava scientist at its helm. But the approach to agriculture being adopted by Nigeria has been criticised by a board member of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for failing to acknowledge the needs and capabilities of peasant farmers. John Pickett, an IITA board member and a researcher at the UK-based agricultural research centre Rothamsted Research, was concerned that industrialising Nigeria's agriculture could have 'disastrous' consequences for its farmers. 'By and large it is just about making money out of industrial agriculture. I am not in any way convinced that the green revolution has much to offer the large majority of farmers in Africa.'

NGOs in Uganda continue to heavily depend on donations from foreign sources, says this report on NGO sustainability on the website of the Uganda National NGO Forum. 'Grants and donations to NGOs are still the primary source of income to at least 90% of NGOs. In 2010, there was a reduction in foreign grants inflow in Uganda owing to the global economic downturn and financial crisis and changes in development policies in previously major funding countries like Netherlands. Some traditionally financially sound NGOs were forced to scale-down significantly due to funding cuts.'

Reporters Without Borders has called for a thorough and impartial investigation into the fatal shooting of Zakariya Isa, a reporter and cameraman for the state-owned Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), in Maiduguri, the capital of the northeastern state of Borno, on 22 October. His murder has been claimed by Boko Haram, an armed Islamist movement operating in northern Nigeria.

Women in Cameroon have developed a vision for a gender-sensitive approach for their country’s nascent Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) programme. They have put together a roadmap to ensure that women are involved in the formulation of Cameroon’s national REDD+ strategy. The premise is that women should be given equal opportunities to learn about REDD+ initiatives, and their capacity strengthened so they can influence, participate in and benefit from the programme. The roadmap will be presented at the UN Climate Convention in Durban in December.

Doreen Sibanda, 27, was among the first undocumented Zimbabwean nationals to be deported in early October 2011 after South Africa apparently lifted its more than two year moratorium on expulsions imposed following widespread xenophobic violence in 2008. 'I was on my way to the shops to buy porridge for my four-year-old son when I was stopped by the police [in the inner city Johannesburg suburb of Berea] who asked for my passport and residence permit. I lied to them that I had forgotten them at home but they never gave me a chance,' Sibanda told IRIN.

The global demand for secondary education has risen exponentially, says a new United Nations report, which adds that governments, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, are having a hard time keeping up and many children are being left out. The 2011 Global Education Digest by the Institute for Statistics of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), says there are only enough seats for 36 per cent of children who want to enrol in secondary education in sub-Saharan Africa.

'As we observe the 30th anniversary of the African Charter, there are reports of continuous harassment, arbitrary arrests, rapes and murders of Africans on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Such is the case in Ghana, Togo, Cameroon, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, among others. In many other African states the criminal laws against same sex sexual conduct continues to expose an already marginalized population of people to abuse and violation.'

'The Malawi Chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is disturbed with reports that Nation Publications Limited (NPL) Journalist Phillip Pemba is receiving death threats over an article that revealed that Robert Chasowa had dealings with the police before he was murdered. We are also disturbed with reports that the police summoned Weekend Nation Editor George Kasakula and Malawi News Deputy Editor Innocent Chitosi of Blantyre Newspapers Limited - papers that carried detailed insights into Chasowa’s death and dealings with the police - for questioning over recordings of the articles.

Iowa-based investor Bruce Rastetter and fellow investors in the industrial agricultural corporation AgriSol Energy have their sights on 800,000 acres (325,000 hectares) of land in Tanzania that is home to 162,000 people. The proposed site is inhabited by former refugees from neighboring Burundi. Most of the residents, several generations of families who have successfully re-established their lives by developing and farming the land over the last 40 years, will be displaced against their will. They will lose their livelihoods and their community. Once they are gone, Agrisol Energy will move in. Despite rising international criticism of the proposed plan to evict the residents in the proposed lease areas for foreign investors, the Tanzanian government plans to move forward with the project. We need your help today to make sure that won’t happen. Please send a message to Bruce Rastetter, other principal investors, and the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, to urge them to drop this project.

DePaul’s Program in African and Black Diaspora Studies provides its students with a systematic, interdisciplinary, and integrated course of study of Africa and the Black Diaspora. Students will have an opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in African and Black Diaspora Studies with a concentration in Africa, Black America, or Afro-Caribbean and Latin America.

Stereotypes and misconceptions linked to sexual orientation and gender can have adverse consequences on the health of lesbians. The aim of this project from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is to demystify 'myths and realities' on certain aspects of lesbian health, such as breast and cervical cancers, HIV and sexually transmitted infections and well-being.

Tens of thousands of refugees living in Kenyan cities will continue to suffer police harassment, lack of protection, violation of their human rights and discrimination, as long as the government fails to properly implement recent legislation, says a report by the Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG), International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK). 'The rights of such refugees to move freely within Kenya and reside in urban areas are currently unclear,' Sara Pavanello, a researcher with HPG at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), said during the launch of 'Hidden and Exposed: Urban Refugees in Nairobi'.

Guinea’s Justice ministry has confirmed that 51 persons have been arrested and detained in connection with the failed assassination attempt on President Alpha Condé last July. The figure contrasts with another one given by Attorney-General William Fernandez last Saturday. Mr Fernandez had told a press conference that only 38 people were in custody over the case, among them 27 military personnel.