theguardian.com
@theguardian Tue, 02 Sep 2025 11:14:53
Tony Somerset obituary
My friend Tony Somerset, who has died aged 94, was an educationist dedicated to working with policymakers and teachers in Africa and Asia to come up with education systems that would better serve children of all backgrounds.He helped to introduce a reform programme for Kenya’s certificate of primary education that leaned towards comprehension, application and analysis rather than straight memory and recall testing. Continue reading...
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theguardian.com
@theguardian Wed, 26 Aug 2026 09:00:15
A Ugandan quarry worker carrying rocks on her head: Dan Nelken's best photograph
'Janet had eight children. Her husband drove a boda-boda taxi, but had lost a leg – so she had been working in her local quarry for 10 years. "I am now the husband in this home," she said'In 2017, my wife, Adele Brown, was invited to spend three weeks at an NGO in Gulu, Uganda, teaching critical thinking skills to blind high school-age students. I was asked along to document the organisation's activities. I became fascinated by the town's main market, where vendors sold goods such as used clothes, fruit and firewood. I asked the Ugandan teachers how I might approach someone to take their portrait. They suggested I offer a modest "model fee" after seeking permission.One of the students – Emmanuel (Emma) – wanted to assist me. We would visit the market together. When I saw a vendor I wanted to photograph, Emma would approach and seek their consent. Most agreed, but after returning home to New York, I looked at the results and was disappointed. As with other well-intentioned projects, I thought that was the end of it. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Mon, 24 Aug 2026 06:54:08
After 100 days of the deadliest Ebola outbreak, it can be stopped. Here's how | Jean Kaseya and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Ebola is a disease that spreads through communities, so we need to listen to communities if we want to halt its spreadEach time we travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we go first to listen. In Bunia, we have met dozens of community representatives: survivors, women, young people, local organisations, health workers and leaders from affected areas.Their message was direct: involve us. We know our communities. We know where families seek care, how information moves and why trust is breaking down. Give us the means to help drive the response. They were right. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Fri, 21 Aug 2026 04:02:22
Ebola outbreak: five big questions
On 23 August, it will be 100 days since the Bundibugyo strain was first reported. How did it became the DRC's most deadly outbreak and what must be done to stop it becoming the world's largest?Almost 100 days ago, Africa's public health watchdog reported an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.There have now been almost 5,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths since 15 May, making this Ebola outbreak the biggest and most deadly in the DRC's history. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Wed, 19 Aug 2026 12:59:29
The Guardian view on the Ebola outbreak in the DRC: a case study in why international aid matters | Editorial
The Trump administration's 'America first' approach has contributed to the scale of the crisis now unfolding in one of the world's poorest countriesFor months health experts have warned that the scale of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could surpass the one that swept west Africa in 2014-16. This week, the authorities in the DRC announced that a grim milestone has already been passed: at least 2,325 people have died from the virus, making it the deadliest of the country's 17outbreaks and the fastest-growing in history.There is no effective vaccine against Bundibugyo – a rare strain of the virus that spread fatally undetected during the spring, often being misdiagnosed as malaria or typhoid. In contrast to neighbouring Uganda, which succeeded in eliminating an outbreak, multiple factors are combining to let the disease rip through the DRC. The worst-affected region is contested by armed groups, and a context of population displacement and chronic insecurity has made monitoring and surveillance more difficult. Ebola treatment centres have been attacked as a result of misinformation and community distrust. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Mon, 17 Aug 2026 07:53:16
What is Ebola and why is the outbreak in DRC causing so much concern?
Strain of virus with no vaccine has potential to overrun response impeded by conflict and misinformationHealth authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are losing their battle to contain the country's deadliest Ebola outbreak.DRC's health ministry declared an outbreak in Ituri province on 15 May, though sequencing shows it had begun in February. It has since spread to five other provinces and is on track to overtake the 2014-16 west Africa outbreak as the largest in history. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:30:32
Top Ugandan footballer killed by robbers armed with paving stones
David Owori, who played for the national team, died in hospital after he tried to stop robbers taking his phoneThe Ugandan football community is in mourning after the death of a player who was fatally injured during a robbery in the capital, Kampala, on Tuesday night.David Owori, who captained Sports Club Villa, a Uganda Premier League club, and represented the national team, was attacked after resisting an attempt to steal his mobile phone and other belongings. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Sat, 01 Aug 2026 23:00:11
Anti-LGBTQ+ laws are on the rise across west Africa, campaigners warn
Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as 'the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power'A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the "promotion" of homosexuality. Niger criminalised "sexual relations with a person of the same sex" in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Mon, 27 Jul 2026 02:00:34
Uganda begins emergency food handouts after 19 die from hunger
Government move follows months of drought and crop failures in Karamoja, with 1.5m people facing malnutritionUganda has launched emergency food relief distribution after at least 19 deaths from hunger were reported in an area of prolonged drought in the east of the country.A crisis has been building in the Karamoja region of Uganda as crops have failed without the season's expected rains, leaving the region's 1.5 million people facing acute food shortages and rising malnutrition. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Fri, 24 Jul 2026 05:00:11
'We can't even walk through the streets': women arrrested for kissing in public on life under Uganda's anti-LGBTQ+ law
Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise have been released after five months in prison over allegations of engaging in same-sex activityFor five months, Wendy Faith and Alesi Diana Denise shared a small prison cell knowing that there was a possibility they might spend the rest of their lives there. Accused of engaging in same-sex activity, an offence under Uganda's anti-LGBTQ+ laws, the two young women faced a life sentence.Faith, a 22-year-old musician known as Torrero Bae, and Denise, 21, say they have been left "traumatised" by their arrest and detention, an ordeal that began with a police raid on their single rented room in Arua City, north-west Uganda, in February. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:33:27
Uganda calls for travel restrictions to be lifted after last Ebola patient discharged
Country begins 42-day countdown to outbreak being declared officially over, as numbers continue to rise in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the CongoUganda has started lobbying countries to lift Ebola-related travel restrictions after discharging its last confirmed Ebola patient from hospital.The discharge of a Congolese national from the Mulago national referral hospital's isolation centre in Kampala on Thursday triggered the start of a 42-day countdown required by the World Health Organization before Uganda can officially be declared Ebola-free, provided no new infections are detected. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Fri, 10 Jul 2026 01:00:13
Visualised: how conflict, aid cuts and health-worker attacks are helping Ebola spread in DRC
The rapid spread of the virus has been intensified by misinformation and violence towards volunteers and treatment centresNearly two months after the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) confirmed an Ebola outbreak in one province, the virus is continuing to spread rapidly, reaching more parts of the country and infecting more people.According to government data from 8 July, 1,759 cases and 600 deaths have been recorded. The virus has also spread to Uganda, where there have been 20 confirmed cases, including two deaths. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Thu, 09 Jul 2026 06:00:03
Less drugs, less care, less food: how aid cuts have hit Uganda's 2m refugees
Africa's largest refugee population has seen rations and healthcare slashed as funding levels dropThe skies are gloomy over the wattle-and-mud houses of Kiryandongo refugee settlement, home to more than 167,000 people. Spread across an undulating plateau, the crowded camp, 120 miles (200km) north of Uganda's capital, Kampala, draws new arrivals every day as conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan add to the displacement toll. Of nearly 50,000 refugees who have arrived in Uganda since January, more than 1,000 have come to Kiryandongo.Known for its progressive refugee policies, which include granting freedom of movement, land to cultivate, and the right to work and open a bank account, Uganda is home to 2 million refugees – the largest refugee population in Africa – who live in 13 settlements across the country. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Tue, 07 Jul 2026 10:17:19
Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds
Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally A homegrown catnip lotion has proven "just as effective as Deet" as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:17:22
Anthony Kasozi obituary
My friend and colleague, Anthony Kasozi, who has died of cancer aged 65, was a coach and consultant with the rare gift of making his clients feel more confident.Specialising in leadership development, Anthony worked over many years with a wide range of organisations such as the International Committee for the Red Cross, the London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine, the African Academy of Science and the Mental Health Foundation. Often dealing with directors and multinational teams, he was no stranger to difficult conversations held in stressful situations and always found ways to create calm, a sense of possibility and a way ahead that elicited the best from people. Continue reading...
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@theguardian Wed, 01 Jul 2026 02:00:29
'Witch-hunt' in Niger as military regime rounds up LGBTQ+ population
Fears of resurgence of HIV/Aids amid loss of access to PrEP drugs as at least 40 people arrested in 'toxic' climateA "witch-hunt" is under way in Niger, where dozens of people have been arrested for homosexuality in the west African state following the introduction of a new penal code earlier this year.Up to 40 people have been arrested and 16 men, including high-ranking military officials, have been imprisoned across the country, according to local media. Continue reading...
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