American politics have long influenced abortion rights abroad, but health care providers in Kenya say no U.S. president has done more damage to their cause than Donald Trump. The Trump administration’s iteration of the Global Gag Rule is exceptionally severe, pulling millions in funding from groups that prevent unsafe abortions and protect women’s health. Meanwhile, local anti-abortion activists are borrowing tactics from American groups like Operation Rescue, designed to shame local abortion providers and the patients they serve. Read my investigation with Mother Jones and Type Investigations.
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September 3, 2020Articles
‘When we lose our fear, they lose their power!’ Meet the women fighting back against police brutality in Kenya.
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In north-east Kenya, climate change is driving up rates of child marriage. I traveled to Marsabit county for TIME Magazine to meet the child brides of this region and tell their stories. Video by the talented Vania Turner and Will Swanson.
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‘When you talk about women’s empowerment… it’s going to be affected by what is happening right now.’
Read my latest on the systemic challenges – including lack of funding for reproductive health services and a lack of comprehensive sexuality education in Kenyan schools – contributing to a long history of high teenage pregnancy rates in the country.
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With no date set for religious buildings to reopen, an innovative priest brings his own brand of musical service to apartment complexes.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a global recession that threatens the colossal international loan program that is a symbol of China’s growing prestige and a centerpiece of President Xi Jinping’s reign. The Belt and Road Initiative — China’s effort to finance nearly half a trillion dollars in new infrastructure across Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America — took flight during a period of global expansion and easy travel that has now slammed into a sober reckoning. Beijing faces mounting calls to reschedule loans for shipping hubs, electrical plants and transport links that look unsustainable as economies struggle and globalization slows.
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The collapse of medical supply chains has been a catastrophe for women in developing countries. Lockdowns have made matters worse.
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As Kenya prepares for a rise in novel coronavirus cases, 3D printing companies are designing and printing personal protective equipment (PPEs) and parts for medical devices to address the expected deficit in the country. Read my latest for Quartz Africa here.
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Uganda is concerned that East African truck drivers carrying essential goods from Kenya and Tanzania may also being transmitting Covid-19 along their routes and between borders. My latest on the pandemic for Quartz.
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An infestation of desert locusts first arrived in East Africa last June, feeding on hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops and pastureland and chomping a path of destruction through at least eight countries. Scientists say these devastating insects never left East Africa: in fact, favorable wet conditions due to above average rainfall this season means they are likely to achieve two generations of new breeding by June this year, increasing their population size up to 400 times. Read my latest for Quartz Africa here.
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