As the world meets to find ways of mitigating the impact of climate change, Nigeria, like other African nations which are at the receiving end of the effects of the global climate change, is counting its losses from the impact of the phenomenon.

Corruption in Kenya has been a challenge since colonial times and the enthusiasm to fight it seems to be diminishing if Kenya’s poor score on the 2009 TI Corruption Perception Index is anything to go by. Kenya now ranks with Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone and well below Nigeria. This publication is an extract form a forthcoming report which reviews the effectiveness of the KACC after five years of it existence. (AFRICOG)

Burkina Faso is one of continent’s main producers with cotton making up about 60 per cent of its export revenues. Yet Africa’s textile producers still prefer to buy their cotton from America or Asia instead.

The United Nations Democracy Fund is now accepting applications from civil society organizations to apply for funding for projects to advance and support democracy. Project proposals should be submitted on-line before December 31, 2009.

FIAN International welcomes the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which is to be celebrated tomorrow. The current global food crisis affects women disproportionately. Where the human right to food is violated or threatened, women and girls are often specifically or more severely affected.

Men and women of African descent wanted from across the African diaspora to Judge essays written by children aged 8 to 16 years for "The Annual Essay Contest for Children of African Descent". Essays will be submitted in both English and French. Schools in English- and French-speaking Africa and the diaspora are invited to indicate their interest in participating in this contest. Visit: for previous years' winners. [email][email protected]

The Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network is providing financial and scientific support to teams of developing country researchers studying poverty issue. The deadline to apply is January 6, 2010.

In December 2009 the British newspaper The Guardian, China Dialogue, the billingual environmental website and the School of Journalism and Communication at Wuhan University jointly established the China Environmental Journalism Prize to recognize the best Chinese reporting on environment and climate change.

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) recently released a 2010 wall calendar. With a theme of democracy and elections, the calendar features photos from IFES' photography competition held this year that represent efforts to strengthen civil society and democratic governance around the world

We invite applications for organizations in the Horn, East and Southern Africa interested in participating in an extensive, 3-year technical assistance partnership with Raising Voices to prevent violence against women and HIV in their communities using the SASA! Activist Kit. Deadline for applications December 21st, 2009

A project entitled Promoting the Effectiveness of Democracy Protection Institutions (DPIs) in Southern Africa was recently undertaken by the Governance Institutions & Processes Programme at EISA. Eight EISA research reports (numbers 39-46) are the culmination of this regional project. Empirical research was conducted in early 2009 on the performance of 12 human rights state institutions established to promote democratic governance. Research focused on two types of DPIs in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, where they exist.

The Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) Youth Essay Contest, “We can change...” s for young people between the ages of 18-25 to share their ideas about what is the most important issues affecting women’s lives in their countries and what solutions they propose. The deadline for entries is January 31, 2010.

The weekly newspaper KOLL ENNASS, published in Arabic in Tunis, has three times lashed out at Tunisian human rights defenders and journalists. Kamel JENDOUBI, Sihem BENSEDRINE and Slim BAGGA have been accused of being Israeli agents allegedly pursued by some ‘Palestinian factions’. (OMCT)

Pambazuka News readers can now become fans of to follow news of all our latest books. The Pambazuka Press fan page joins the Facebook groups. Those on Twitter can also follow Pambazuka News at

Public Health Reports (PHR) is inviting papers for a Supplement on Social Determinants of Health and Data Systems. The Editors of seek manuscripts that advance the scientific knowledge and public health research, practice, and policy on data systems related to addressing social determinants of health (SDH). Deadline for submission: June 1, 2010. The anticipated publication date for the PHR Supplement is Fall 2011.

Babacar Diouf

Burkina Faso’s first plastic recycling centre is paving the way for a new kind of development project. It provides a money earner to the poor while tackling environmental pollution. Local industry also benefits – the recycled plastic granules cost half the price of importing new plastic from abroad.

Namibia’s National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the alleged scheming to assassinate a number of ruling party critics. Those targeted for physical elimination include NSHR executive director Phil ya Nangoloh and Max Hamata, one the country’s top investigative reporters.

A ‘revolutionary’ new volume of essays published by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press seeks to revive the tradition of intellectual argument in post-apartheid South Africa.

Carleton University’s Centre for Media and Transitional Societies (CMTS), in collaboration with Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), is pleased to launch a call for concept notes, in French or English, outlining proposed research examining the impact of convergence between traditional radio and new information and communications technologies (ICTs) in sub-Saharan Africa.