The ICC is flawed. Is it still Africa's best hope for justice? →

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More than 11 years after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for Dominic Ongwen’s arrest, and nearly two years after he was captured and transferred to The Hague, his prosecution finally began in December.

Ongwen’s will not be the only trial unfolding over the coming months. The years since the unsealing of the warrant against him have been rocky for the ICC, which has been accused of reinforcing global power dynamics and targeting geopolitically weak states, particularly in Africa. These were among the reasons three African countries—Burundi, South Africa and Gambia—cited in late 2016 when they announced they would begin the process of withdrawing from the statute that created the court. More are threatening to follow.

During this particularly fraught moment in the ICC’s history, Ongwen’s trial promises to keep many of these issues at the fore. And it could be used either to reinforce the court’s necessity or further undermine its legitimacy, especially on the African continent. Read more.

A new platform for smallholder farmers →

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Digital technology has long been touted as the key to helping smallholder farmers around the world overcome barriers that have kept them trapped in poverty, though initial innovations did not always deliver on this promise. Now developers of digital tools for agriculture are trying to refine their offerings, focusing on products that farmers want to use and that align with their priorities. Read more.

Does any party in South Sudan have the will to prevent genocide? →

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The third anniversary last week of the start of South Sudan's ongoing civil war served only to reinforce how intractable that conflict has become. A peace deal is in tatters, along with the country's economy. With the return of the dry season, the combatants appear to be preparing for another round of fighting. And the United Nations is now warning of possible genocide. Read more.

Health is on the G20's agenda. Now what? →

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Concerns over disease outbreaks — and the threat they pose to international security — will for the first time feature prominently on the agenda of the upcoming Group of 20 summit. A coalition of development and relief agencies is using the opportunity to push global leaders for stronger commitments to improve health systems in some of the world’s poorest countries. Read more.

What went wrong for Bridge Academies in Uganda? →

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Uganda’s Ministry of Education is set to shutter the 63 schools run by Bridge International Academies, whose pioneering model for low-cost, private education has drawn significant attention — and investments — from major international players, including Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

Bridge has expanded quickly since opening its first schools in Uganda in February 2015, with more than 12,000 students currently enrolled in its academies across the East African country. According to ministry officials, though, it did so without meeting national standards. Bridge officials refute the allegations, and some education experts cast them as part of a broader international campaign to stop the development of affordable alternatives to underperforming public school systems. Read more.

At last, an HIV prevention tool women can control? →

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There is a need “for self-initiated products that women, especially young women, can and will use consistently. Women need practical and discreet tools that they can use to protect themselves from HIV infection,” said Dr. Flavia Matovu, an epidemiologist and investigator with the Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University Research Collaboration, based in Uganda.
Now, researchers including Matovu hope they may have an option in the vaginal ring, a flexible piece of silicon laced with an antiretroviral medication. Women insert it near their cervix, where it can safely remain for about a month, slowing releasing the drug at the site of a potential infection. The method is being tested in two crucial “open label” extension studies, wherein all willing participants will receive the medicated ring, rather than a placebo.

Read more.

West African countries focus on post-Ebola recovery plans →

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It has been more than 6 months since the last diagnosis of Ebola in Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia. The three west African countries suffered nearly all of the more than 28,600 diagnosed cases and 11,300 deaths during the outbreak that began in December 2013 in a Guinean village.
Although the outbreak has ended, the scale of the epidemic collapsed these countries' health systems, while unleashing new medical crises. The capacity to treat even basic illnesses is now limited, while health needs of Ebola survivors stretch the services that do remain. With Ebola having killed health workers at a disproportionate rate, the years-long efforts to rebuild the health systems are only just beginning. Officials in all three settings acknowledge that the task ahead is immense.

Read more.

Aid groups grapple with stigmatization in HIV prophylaxis roll-out →

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The success of a promising HIV prevention intervention in sub-Saharan Africa — the region with the highest burden of HIV — will hinge more on the social than the scientific. Researchers and advocates will have to strike a balance in how they market and roll out pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). They have to ensure that it reaches stigmatized populations with high HIV transmission rates, such as MSM and sex workers. But they must ensure it is not perceived as exclusively a treatment for marginalized groups, which will lower its appeal both within those communities but also to other people who could benefit from it. Read more.

Kenya's troop withdrawal could seal the fate of South Sudan's peace process →

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In a sharp rebuke to the United Nations, Kenya has started the process of pulling its troops from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. To make matters worse, Kenya is simultaneously disengaging from peace efforts in South Sudan, where a 15-month-old agreement to bring together warring parties was already on the verge of collapse. The moves by Kenya, which has been a key regional force in pushing for South Sudanese stability, could cement its failure. Read more.

Ethiopia's state of emergency silences aid workers →

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The Ethiopian government’s recently imposed state of emergency, which followed months of clashes between political protesters and security forces, has imposed new curfews, limited the movement of civilians and diplomats and outlawed opposition media.

It has also largely silenced the extensive international aid community operating in the country from speaking about what effect the current political dynamic is having on their work. Read more.

NIH project focuses on integration of HIV and NCD care →

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For millions of patients, HIV has been transformed into a highly treatable, chronic condition thanks to the development and distribution of increasingly sophisticated combination therapies. These advances have come with another unanticipated outcome, though. Researchers and health workers now worry they may lose patients they have saved from AIDS-related illnesses to non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cervical cancer, depression, and diabetes. Read more.