A shortage of money means Uganda is unlikely to shift its prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programmes to a more efficient UN World Health Organisation (WHO) regimen soon, say government officials. In 2010, WHO recommended two equally effective options for PMTCT. The first, Option A, is fairly similar to the system Uganda currently uses. It involves single-dose antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for the mother - if her CD4 count is over 350 - from the 14th week, as well as ARVs during labour, delivery and one week post-partum. Pregnant women with CD4 counts below 350 are advised to start taking ARVs for their own health. Option B involves triple therapy ARVs from the 14th week of pregnancy until one week after breastfeeding has ended, which can be up to one year. The Ugandan government has expressed its intention to shift to Option B, which is simpler for health providers and mothers to implement than Option A. However, an already stressed HIV budget may make this impossible.

This map shows fighting in Zawiyah, Misrata, Bin Jawad and Ras Lanuf as the Tripoli government tries to claw back gains made by the rebels.

The three-month long conflict in Ivory Coast has entered a particularly bloody stage. Nearly 400 people have been killed in the west African country, including 32 on 3 March alone, almost all of them men who had voted for opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, according to UN figures. The photographs on this page provide an illustration of recent events in the country.

Kenyan Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka started a second round of shuttle diplomacy on Sunday to lobby for International Criminal Court deferment of Kenya’s post election violence case by a year. Musyoka left the country for a meeting with UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon on Tuesday and US officials on Wednesday.

As pro-democracy forces advance toward Gaddafi's main strongholds, the dictator of Libya is stepping up efforts to retake regions lost to the rebellion. Amidst an almost complete Internet and media blackout, videos still manage to be leaked, giving us a glimpse of what's happening on the ground. This post from Global Voices contains a round-up of the videos that emerged.

More than 191,000 people have fled the violence in Libya, according to a report by the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing figures from the International Organisation for Migration. People fleeing Libya for Tunisia said they had to pass through dozens of checkpoints on their way from Tripoli, the capital, and that they had been robbed by Gaddafi's security forces.

'Freedom of Information and Women’s Rights in Africa' is a toolkit guide published by the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) with the support of UNESCO. The book provides guidance for women’s organisations in Africa on how to organise around freedom of information. It has compiled five case studies from five African countries, namely, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia under different scenarios.

The protesters who stormed the offices of Egyptian state security this weekend say the buildings are proof of 'the greatest privacy invasion in history', filled with transcripts of phone conversations, surveillance reports and stark reminders of the torture carried out inside.Hundreds of protesters seized the state security building - a prominent symbol of the Egyptian government's brutality - after hours of protests. Protesters say they hope the documents are used to prosecute state security officers.

Citizens in Equatorial Guinea trying to take advantage of the government’s pledge to allow greater citizen participation continue to face serious obstacles that hinder their efforts, EG Justice says in a new report. The country was delisted from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) - a voluntary international effort to strengthen governance in resource-rich countries through improved transparency and accountability - in April 2010 for its failure to comply with the EITI’s requirements, including failing to allow unfettered civil society engagement. Nearly one year later, the Equatoguinean government has not implemented the necessary reforms to guarantee citizen participation and to increase the likelihood that the country will be readmitted to the EITI. The 37 page report, 'Disempowered Voices: The Status of Civil Society in Equatorial Guinea', identifies systematic failures on the part of the Equatoguinean government to allow the full and independent participation of civil society organisations.

As anxiety grows about President Robert Mugabe's health, divisions in Zanu-PF have worsened, with the two main camps angling to succeed the veteran leader intensifying their internal battle for control of the party. Mugabe's health concerns escalated last week when he was rushed to Singapore for what spokesman George Charamba said was 'the last review on his minor cataract operation'.

Thousands more refugees are fleeing an escalation of political violence in the Ivory Coast, reports children’s charity Plan International. Unofficial figures suggest that up to 40,000 people have crossed the border into neighbouring Liberia. 'The number of refugees entering Liberia has increased dramatically in the last week, due to an outbreak of fighting in our neighbouring country, Ivory Coast,' says Mohammed Bah, Plan International’s Country Director in Liberia.

The Dag Hammarskjöld Journalism Fellowship is open to individuals who: are native of one of the developing countries of Africa, Asia, South America or the Caribbean. Applicants must demonstrate an interest in and commitment to international affairs and to conveying a better understanding of the United Nations to their readers and audiences.

Police backed by gangs of youths have ransacked at least 10 houses belonging to ministers and other allies of the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast, according to witnesses. The raids came amid worsening tensions between Alassane Ouattara and the sitting president, Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to step down has pushed the west African country to the brink of civil war. Fighters loyal to Ouattara said they captured the western town of Toulepleu, but Gbagbo's military said fighting continued.

Soldiers patrolled the Angolan capital Luanda on Sunday as Angolans watched to see if plans for a Monday mass protest against the 31-year rule of President Jose Eduardo dos Santos would materialise. Since last month, rumours have been circulating on the Internet of north Africa-style protests scheduled to begin on 7 March.

While Tanzania's health indicators in some key areas have shown improvement, challenges abound within the health system, a new study shows. The report lists 36 factors impeding the development of the health sector in the country. Limited financial and human resources, administrative shortcomings and unfulfilled plans and promises are among the reasons. Giving local authorities some mandate on decision-making, functional responsibility and resources from central to local government authorities also contribute to the sector's underperformance. The 'Tanzania Health System Assessment 2010' report reveals that there has been a layer of complexity arising from the managerial ability of staff to coordinate across different ministries and fulfil their roles within the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Prime Minister's Office, Regional Administration and Local Governments (RALG), administration structures.

The Executive Director of GAMCOTRAP, Dr Isatou Touray, is one of the recipients of the Africa Gender Award 2011 by FAMEDEV (Femme et media et Development) headed by a Gambian, Amie Joof-Cole based in Dakar, Senegal. Dr Touray is amongst other prestigious awardees such as the Senegalese President, His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade. Imam Baba Muhtarr Leigh, received the award on behalf of Dr Touray.

The investigation into alleged improper conduct and maladministration perpetrated by the National Commissioner of South African Police Service (SAPS), Bheki Cele, and the Minister of Public Works (PW), Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde has been completed and a comprehensive report submitted. It is now up to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to urgently move the process forward, says the Social Justice Coalition. It is in the interest of the Rule of Law and our faith in the Justice system that the case against General Cele and Minister Mahlangu-Nkabinde be brought before the courts, says the Coalition.

An Israeli company is recruiting mercenaries to support Moammar Gadhafi’s efforts to suppress an uprising against his regime, an Israeli news site said Tuesday. Citing Egyptian sources, the Hebrew-language news site Inyan Merkazi said the company was run by retired Israeli army commanders.

Opposition forces in Libya are bracing for a prolonged campaign in their bid to overthrow the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, the country's long-time leader, as their fighters battle to repulse ferocious assaults by government soldiers. Forces loyal to Gaddafi have attacked several rebel-held cities along the country's coastline in a bid to halt the anti-government forces' rapid advance to the capital Tripoli. Dozens have died in a dramatic escalation of the conflict gripping the oil-rich North African nation.

A court in Angola's southwestern province of Namibe sent a journalist to prison without due process over his coverage of a sexual harassment scandal that implicated the province's top judicial official, according to local journalists and news reports. Judge Manuel Araujo sentenced Armando José Chicoca, a freelancer who reports for US government-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) and private Angolan newspapers such as Folha 8, Agora, and O Apostolado, to one year in prison and a fine of 200,000 kwanza (US$2,100), according to news reports.