Stories about Development from June, 2020
WHO urges Pakistan to reimpose lockdown after surge in cases
Pakistan has implemented new lockdown restrictions after a letter from the WHO urged the country to improve testing and control outbreak numbers.
People with disabilities left stranded during national lockdown in Uganda
In Uganda, the needs of marginalized people — especially those of persons with disabilities — were conspicuously absent in President Yoweri Museveni’s COVID-19 directives.
Fish prices spike as Cameroon’s mangroves face total depletion
Cameroonians rely heavily on mangroves for fish and firewood, but exploiting its resources has pushed it to the brink. A spike in fish prices is largely blamed on mangrove depletion.
No medicine, no healing: Sudan’s pharmaceutical crisis
Since 2016, medicine prices in Sudan have risen exponentially. To make matters worse, the government’s central bank lacks the foreign currency necessary to import essential drugs from abroad.
A new game plays with ideas about how disinformation works in East Africa
"Chose Your Own Fake News" is an online game that teaches new internet users how to be more discerning about the information they receive and encounter in digital spaces.
Part II: Roadblocks to health care for women during COVID-19 in East Africa
Under COVID-19 curfew in Kenya, transport providers have either been unable or unwilling to transport pregnant women in labor to health facilities for fear of harassment by security agencies.
Part I: Health care information access for women during COVID-19 in East Africa
In Kenya, pregnant women struggle to get uninterrupted access to sexual and reproductive health-related information and education during the pandemic — on and offline.
Tanzanian women’s savings and loan groups in flux during COVID-19
In Tanzania and around the world, COVID-19 exposes the vulnerability of microfinance savings and loan groups during large-scale crises.
The rise of artemisia in Cameroon in the fight against COVID-19
As COVID-19 cases continue to soar in Cameroon, many who believe in local herbs have turned to the potent artemisia plant as the government reopens the economy in the country.
Internet shutdowns in Sudan: The story behind the numbers and statistics
In the last several years, Sudan experienced two major internet shutdowns that seriously prohibited basic communication and exchange during politically charged periods, causing exponential losses and risks.
Silicon Valley tech giants race to build Africa's internet infrastructure. Should Africa worry?
Google and Facebook are building undersea internet cables for Africans with access to high-speed internet — but 33 nations in Africa still don't have comprehensive data privacy laws.