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Farmers in Ethiopia fight drought and climate change

Throughout most of his 55 years, Mohammed Hassen and his family have suffered during recurring droughts that have ravaged his district of Kalu, South Wollo Zone, in northeastern Ethiopia. The country, once defined by rural poverty, is developing a strategy to address pockets of extreme poverty more

From Dump to Dollars: Landfill Gas Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

Addis Ababa’s 36 hectare municipal landfill, open for over 40 years and currently 85% full, will now be closed and transformed into the Repi landfill gas project under the a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. The Repi CDM project is based on the capture and flaring of the harmf more

From sex worker to HIV counselor

Jennifer was just 16 years old when poverty forced her out of her native Nigeria, leaving her family and many young sisters behind. She thought she was heading for a better future as a house maid in Europe, but instead, she ended up in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where she has been a sex worker for t more

Gender-based violence awareness program opens eyes in Rwanda

Emmanuel, a pastor in northern Rwanda, had always considered himself a model husband. That is, until he attended a gender-based violence awareness programme in his community that showed him he had been violent to his wife to a degree that is considered illegal. “When I learned that my behavior was n more

Helping communities boost food security in Eritrea

With only a handful of children playing around in an open field, the village of Lamza, on the outskirts of Asmara, looks deserted. This is because almost all the village residents have gone to work on their farms in a nearby valley, where two micro dams are allowing them to irrigate and grow their c more

In Benin, women cotton growers embrace organic agriculture

Each year, on average, Benin produces 220,000 tons of cotton, representing 45 percent of its fiscal income and 13 percent of its Gross National Product. Yet, in the northern municipality of Banikoara - Benin’s top cotton-producing region - the excessive use of chemical fertilizers by some cotton gro more

In Niger, groups of women fight against sand encroachment

Squatting among around 15 women wrapped in beautiful colourful fabrics, Bintou Bira, well over 60, picks up handfuls of sand and puts it into plastic bags. Over the last several months, her group of 73 female nursery workers, in collaboration with the authorities of Mainé Soroa in southeastern more

In Nigeria, farm training yields fuller harvests for rural women

For Mama Nsedu, a young widow in Northern Nigeria, feeding her family was becoming harder every day. Like thousands of women in the rural communities of Nanka, Kyado and Yauri, Mama Nsedu faced poor crop yields due to harsh, dry weather, low rainfall, poor soil nutrients and overdependence on expens more

In Senegal, access to water 'life-transforming'

Kalla Niang, 12, is highly self-assured and energetic. She is busily preparing herself for high school, an opportunity that, until recently, would not have been available to her. Kalla lives in the village of Darou Ngaraf in northern Senegal. Like many girls in rural Senegal, Kalla and her sisters a more

In northern Ghana, 10 horsepower helps to fight poverty

Amadu Mahama has spent the last 20 years trying to bring modern energy services to his native village of Tamale in northern Ghana. Due to a lack of energy resources, most people in Mahama's village used to do all their work manually, and female children have often had to stay home from school to hel more

UNDP Africa at a Glance

Aiming to eradicate poverty, violence and hunger, UNDP Africa is assisting African countries to translate economic growth into long-lasting, inclusive human development.

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Featured Publication

MDG Report 2013: Assessing Progress in Africa Toward the Millennium Development Goals

The Africa MDG Report 2013 concludes that while Africa is the world’s second fastest growing region, its rate of poverty reduction is insufficient to reach the target of halving extreme poverty by 2015.

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