Great Lakes

Call for oil revenues to improve living standards in Congo

BRAZZAVILLE, 15 May 2013 (IRIN) - Congo, which is heavily dependent on revenue from the oil industry, has been declared as “conforming to” a global standard that aims to ensure transparency of payments for natural resources; NGOs hope the announcement will improve the lives of the poor. full report

Briefing: Towards internal solutions to the DRC crisis

 KAMPALA, 14 May 2013 (IRIN) - A UN intervention brigade will soon be deployed to the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a bid to neutralize militia groups operating there. full report

Trading conflict for coffee in DRC

 GOMA, 8 May 2013 (IRIN) - Entrepreneur Gilbert Makelele wants armed groups in his part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to wake up and smell the coffee. full report

Is more force in the DRC more of the same?

 JOHANNESBURG, 8 May 2013 (IRIN) - The imminent deployment of a UN-backed 3,000-strong international force mandated to “neutralize… and disarm” all armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) marks a switch to a more belligerent international stance towards rebel militia, but has met with scepticism in some quarters. full report

Conflict cuts off civilians in DRC's Katanga

 KATANGA, 2 May 2013 (IRIN) - Tens of thousands of displaced people in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Katanga Province have received little or no humanitarian aid in the months since having fled ongoing conflict. full report

Children bear brunt of CAR crisis

 BANGUI, 25 April 2013 (IRIN) - Sporadic armed clashes, looting of orphanages, recruitment into armed groups, and widespread school closures have made life perilous for children in the Central African Republic (CAR) in the wake of a 24 March rebel coup by the Séléka alliance. full report

Uganda pilots mobile courts for refugees

 KAMPALA, 23 April 2013 (IRIN) - Uganda's government and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have launched a pilot mobile court system to improve access to justice for victims of crimes in Nakivale, the country's oldest and largest refugee settlement. full report

Uneven progress on child stunting in East and Central Africa

 NAIROBI, 16 April 2013 (IRIN) - Improvements in nutrition and stronger government policies have led to a decline in childhood stunting, according to a new report on child nutrition. However, the condition continues to affect some 165 million children under the age of five globally. full report

Regional insecurity adding to Chad's humanitarian needs

 NAIROBI, 12 April 2013 (IRIN) - Chad is grappling with an influx of refugees and returnees into its south-eastern regions, mainly from neighbouring Sudan, and others from the Central African Republic (CAR) following a series of inter-ethnic clashes in Darfur and a recent coup in the CAR, respectively. full report

In East Africa, heavy rains test emergency preparedness

 NAIROBI, 11 April 2013 (IRIN) - Unusually heavy rains have caused havoc across much of east Africa, displacing thousands of people and damaging important infrastructure. full report