Mozambique's enduring discrimination leaves gay men untreated for HIV

In June, Mozambique dropped a colonial-era law criminalizing homosexual activities. The change passed relatively quietly in the southern African country. After all, no one had ever been convicted.
A few weeks later, Tony Andrea felt like he was coming down with malaria. The 22-year-old went to a government health clinic. Andrea is gay and, despite the recently overturned prohibition, had always felt safe being open about his sexuality. He certainly never suspected it might interfere with his ability to access malaria treatment.

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Students support opposition as presidential poll looms

Activists in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are locked in a battle with President Joseph Kabila’s administration over what they are describing as an attempt to extend his mandate beyond the official end of his second – and final – term in November. In the process, political organizers are drawing on a deep well of support among university students. Read more.


Women in Uganda are leading climate change adaptation

Farming is easily the most common occupation in this East African country. Much of it is small scale – scratching out just enough cassava, beans or maize to get by. And the vast majority of the people doing it are women – 80 percent according to some estimates. That means they are also the ones suffering most from the effects of climate change, whose impacts – changing weather patterns, intermittent floods and droughts and devastating landslides – can wipe out entire harvests and put families on the brink of starvation. Read more.


Kenya tries to stifle any criticism of its fight against al-Shabab

With a devastating attack last month on an army base in southwestern Somalia housing Kenyan soldiers, the militant group al-Shabab once again signaled its strength, despite the years-long regional effort to wipe it out. Dozens of Kenyan soldiers were slaughtered in the assault, which raised questions about Nairobi’s role in the ongoing campaign against the Islamic extremists. But Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta insists his government is committed to vanquishing al-Shabab—even as it does everything it can to silence any domestic debate over Kenya’s continued involvement in that effort. Read more.


Uganda discovered the Zika virus — and the solution for it

It’s the Zika virus — which has infected tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people in the Americas in recent months and may be linked to a spate of children born with underdeveloped brains in Brazil — that’s now bringing Ugandan epidemiologists unexpected attention. Uganda Virus Research Institute scientists first discovered Zika in the blood of a rhesus monkey back in 1947. And while Uganda has never had an outbreak of the virus, the country’s unique approach to monitoring the spread of similar diseases could hold the key to stopping future epidemics in their tracks.

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Uganda's election worries Museveni camp more than it will admit

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is treating his country’s election later this month as a coronation, not a contest, happy to cultivate the impression that the five-year extension to his already 30-year rule is all but a done deal. But the arrest this past weekend of a prominent general turned regime critic is the latest sign that Museveni’s camp is more worried about the vote—and its aftermath—than they are letting on. Read more.