In the wake of a continent-wide upsurge in homophobia with Zimbabwe’s leaders Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai being the most recent to put there voices to it, Rev. Pieter Oberholzer and gay Christian activist, Victor Mukasa, were chased away “like lepers” from a consultative meeting on homosexuality held on 16^th March in Malawi. They’ve been attending on invitation of secretary-general Canaan Phiri of the Malawi Council of Churches (MCC), who organised the event.

The "post amnesty" process that is supposed to be rehabilitating militants in the Niger Delta continued to face questions throughout March. Matters were not helped when a gathering of government and Niger Delta leaders associated with the process in Warri, Delta State, was interrupted by two car bombs planted by disgruntled militant

International agency Oxfam is deeply concerned with the recent detention of one of its staff and two colleagues from the Ngorongoro NGO Network (NGONET) by authorities in Loliondo, following protests by local women about alleged violations of land rights in the area. The three were detained on 12 April and released the next day on bail. Oxfam calls on the authorities to hold an immediate investigation into the detentions, and take steps to address the concerns of local communities amid growing tension in the area.

Gender Links, a dynamic Southern African NGO based in Johannesburg invites applications for the post of Editor of its Opinion and Commentary Service and related publications. All applications must be received by close of business on 23 April 2010. Late applications will not be considered.

Individuals from all African countries are invited to apply for admission to study for the Master‚s Degree (LLM) in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, South Africa

The University of Texas at Austin scholars to submit conference papers for the 2011 conference on Africa in World Politics. The goal of this conference is to create an interdisciplinary dialogue concerning Africa's contemporary and historical place in world politics.

With humble respect, on behalf of the refugees living in the camps of Dadaab, we would like to share our grievances with the world and ask for you to help us find our way to freedom. Our lives in the camps are far worse than you can imagine. We live in an open prison, far away from justice and humanity. We talk, but our voices are never heard. We move, but only inside a cage. We have many skills and talents, but we are denied our chance to maximize our potential. We are chained to a life full of stress and despair; a life for which many would prefer death. We are denied opportunities for education and employment. We live in a condition without adequate water, food, or health facilities. We are arbitrarily beaten or detained by police within the confines of the camp. We lack the ability to freely express ourselves or have control over the decisions affecting our lives.

Oxfam GB’s Global Centre of Learning on HIV and AIDS, based in the Pretoria Regional Office, seeks to recruit a Grant Manager to manage the CS Health Policy Action Fund supported by WHO. The grant was awarded in recognition of Oxfam’s growing record of work on health in international development, covering issues related to health systems strengthening (particularly health financing and health care delivery), access to medicines, sexual and reproductive health and HIV and AIDS

Amkeni Wakenya is a UNDP led Facility set up to promote democratic governance in Kenya. The name Amkeni Wakenya is inspired by the second stanza of the National Anthem that calls upon all Kenyans to actively participate in nation building. Amkeni Wakenya primarily works through Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in recognition of the significant role that they play in ensuring that the aspirations of Kenyans are taken into consideration in the democratization process.

New Field Foundation is expanding and deepening its grantmaking to support rural women and their organizations, families and communities in West Africa through its Rural Women Creating Change program. We are seeking a Program Consultant for the Mano River Union, who is familiar with the realities and potential of rural women in the border region of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone

At noon April 15, 500 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise marched to the offices of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), Megawatt House, in Harare. Three simultaneous protests converged at the ZESA headquarters where the peaceful group handed over ‘yellow cards’ to staff members of the electricity service provider along with a report that outlines WOZA’s demands.

The Oxfam International Liaison office with the African Union (OIAU) would like to put a call for civil society actors or staff of locally constituted NGOs, and coalitions of organizations who have the mandate and plan to engage the African Union, to be present in Addis Ababa and conduct their work. This secondment call is to enable committed and often disenfranchised communities’ representative to get the opportunity to meet the policy and decision makers at the AU Commission.

Women's civil society groups were noticeable by their absence from the landmark Haiti donor conference on 31 March, which secured pledges of US$5.3 billion over the next two years to support the country’s post-quake recovery. Their lack of a presence at the meeting was indicative of a broader missing voice in Haiti’s long-term reconstruction prospects, gender activists argued.

The corruption money would have constructed over 5,400 classrooms, paid 315,000 teachers, provided over 7.4million families with treated anti malaria mosquito nets’. The Tanzania corrupt Radar scandal appears to be taking a new twist as the notorious British Serious Fraud Office (SFO) now faces a potential legal suit over the manner in which it handled the corruption case involving the British Aero Space (BAE)

The African Research and Resource Forum (ARRF) is a research, data resource, reflection and policy debate institution devoted to the resolution of the governance and development issues confronting policy-makers and societies in the East African Community (EAC) and the Great Lakes Region. It links scholars, researchers, opinion leaders and public service functionaries to interact and share ideas. The Forum also facilitates the evolution of a regional community of scholars, activists and institutions, with a shared interest in resolving inter-African development problems.

First Lady Thandiwe Banda has said Zambia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and that safe motherhood is still far from being assured. Ms Banda was speaking in Lusaka when she officiated at the opening of a media capacity building workshop on the campaign for accelerated reduction of maternal mortality in Africa (CARMMA).

Applications are now open for the RVI’s first Great Lakes field course, to be held from Saturday 17 to Friday 23 July 2010 in Bujumbura, Burundi. The course is a fast-track, graduate-level introduction to the history, political economy and culture of Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Taught in English and French by a distinguished faculty of international and regional specialists, the course follows in the tracks of the acclaimed annual RVI courses on Sudan and the Horn of Africa. For more information please see Courses or download a prospectus here. The application deadline is 7 May 2010.

The ambassador of the Republic of Congo to Cuba, Pascal Onguemby, rejected the lies included in an anti-Cuba resolution recently approved by the European Parliament. Addressing participants in the inauguration of the Eleventh International Conference on African Culture in the Americas that began today in Santiago de Cuba, the African diplomat spoke on behalf of the ambassadors from Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and Mozambique, as well as the cultural attaché from Angola.

TechSoup Global, the U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides technology resources and knowledge to NGOs around the world, and GuideStar International, a U.K.-registered charity that promotes transparency and civil society organization (CSO) reporting, have announced that they will combine operations in order to strengthen their respective capacity-building programs for civil society. The two organizations share a mission to benefit global civil society through the provision of technology, information, and resources.

Nuclear power holds promise for 10 African countries now in pursuit of building their own nuclear plants. Wind and solar solutions aren't reliable enough, planners say, nor do they offer adequate electricity.