On a bright Tuesday morning in Wakiso District, laughter fills the schoolyard of Divine Mercy Junior Primary School. Boys and girls chase one another across the dusty compound, their blue-and-white uniforms fluttering in the breeze. In one corner, a group of pupils crowd around their teacher, acting out a short drama. One boy snatches a…
SADC Mission Says Tanzania’s 2025 Poll Fell Short of Democratic Standards Observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) said intimidation, arrests, and an internet shutdown prevented citizens from freely exercising their democratic rights during Tanzania’s 2025 general election. In its preliminary report released on 3 November, the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM), led…
Global health experts believe it is high time the World Health Organisation (WHO) reconsidered its Tobacco Control Policy, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which they say has failed to reduce smoking rates, diseases, and deaths over the past two decades. At its inception 20 years ago, the WHO FCTC outlined strategies…
The number of HIV viral load tests is significantly lower than expected, according to an analysis of data from the National Health Laboratory Service which Spotlight and GroundUp obtained through the Promotion of Access to Information Act. The number of HIV viral load tests recorded by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is significantly less…
In reaction to the Stiglitz G20 Extraordinary Committee Report on Inequality published today, Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: “This historic report could not be timelier. It is a high-water mark in international recognition of the inequality crisis. The Inequality Emergency is destroying our democracies, corroding our societies and undermining our economies. An…
Former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa has criticised the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU), accusing them of failing to act decisively in response to Tanzania’s deepening political crisis. He urged both bodies to move beyond passive observation and take meaningful steps to facilitate a political resolution, following…
Johannesburg — Closing the chapter on child marriages is still a distant ambition in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, and despite great strides at developing and passing legislation to eradicate it, existing and emerging drivers are still at play, making youngsters vulnerable to the practice. These were key messages from Equality Now at…
President Cyril Ramaphosa. Image: GCIS Government plans to launch the “alpha” (pre-beta) version of its revamped central website this month, according to according to an update of the second phase of government’s Operation Vulindlela programme. The www.gov.za portal acts as a central gateway to information on government services and initiatives. President Cyril Ramaphosa said during…
Two decades after replacing the OAU, the AU’s record is best measured not by communiqués but by how fast it converts rules into results on the ground. In March 2022, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council (PSC) authorised the transition from AMISOM to ATMIS in Somalia — a reminder that, two decades after the…
The Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has indicated that Africa must take full charge of its peace and security agenda to secure its future. She said the continent could no longer afford to be a bystander in global affairs and must instead act as a confident and proactive force. This was contained in a…
