Climate change is driving gender-based violence among rural communities in the breakaway region of Somaliland, according to the charity Oxfam. In times of increasing drought, women travel further to find water and other needs, raising the risk of sexual violence. Similarly, men unable to support their families too often take out their frustration on their family.
After years of devastating droughts, many rural families in the breakaway territory of Somaliland are migrating to urban centers. To survive, some women are going into business, challenging traditional gender roles that have long defined the workforce.
Yemen’s four years of devastating civil war have taken the hardest toll on women and girls. Many have become widowed and must support their families alone without the needed skills or education. In one remote desert village, the U.S. aid group International Rescue Committee has established a center for teaching skills and empowerment to vulnerable women and girls.
Watch my videos on five micro-entrepreneurs hustling in Nairobi for the Mastercard Foundation.
I am proud and honored to have had the opportunity to work on this piece about my friend, Jason Spindler, who was killed by terrorists in the January 16, 2019 attack on the Dust2it Hotel on Riverside Drive in Nairobi, Kenya.
As the conflict in Yemen rages on, Yemen’s humanitarian crisis worsens.
Yemen’s four-year civil war has produced the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. The conflict between a Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government and Iran-aligned rebels has killed at least 10,000 people and pushed 14 million more to the brink of famine. Often overlooked in Yemen’s wartime narrative are women and children. Yet they are the ones most likely to be displaced, deprived and abused. These are their stories.
After nearly four years of war, Yemen’s humanitarian situation is the worst in the world, say aid agencies, and quickly headed toward famine. Around seventy-five percent of Yemen’s population needs assistance as food prices have shot up due to inflation fueled by fighting around the country’s seaports. As I report from Aden, costs for basic food items have skyrocketed amid shortages, leaving up to 14 million people this year risking starvation.
In Kenya, lack of awareness about Alzheimer’s and other dementias means that people living with these conditions and their families often face a great deal of stigma – some even being accused of witchcraft. But in 2016, a group of devoted caregivers formed ADOK, the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Organisation Kenya, which is working to raise awareness and provide support and care to people living with these conditions and their families.
Most African farmers and small businesses operate with no way to protect themselves if disaster strikes. But that may be starting to change. A handful of companies are now offering inexpensive, tech-driven micro-insurance and are making it easy for ordinary Africans to sign up. My report for VOA from Nigeria and Kenya.