Somalia – Residents of Mogadishu, who had returned after recent fighting between government forces and insurgents, find themselves leaving again, as the violence worsens. Children are the worst effected in the fighting, and suffer most in IDP camps.
Sudan – Darfur hasn't become any safer since the signing of a peace treaty was signed a year ago this month, on the contrary it appears to be more insecure in many areas. The focus of the failure for peace and stability seems to be handed to fragmentation of rebel groups and a failure to disarm militias (Reuters). The UN and African Union met on July 15th -16th in Libya, to establish a peace plan for the region. The meeting came just days after a UN warning that the violence had continued to displaced another 160,000 people since the beginning of 2007, increased the total numbers of displaced persons to around 4.2 million. According to OCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), “Attacks against the relief community have increased 150 percent in the past year. In June, one out of every six convoys that left provincial capitals in Darfur was hijacked or ambushed.” (IRIN). The outcome from the talks, thus far have only led from the UN encouraging some prominent rebel leaders to put down their arms, and join the peace talks. The majority of Sudan's refugee's and IDPs are woman and children, and with weakened food shortages, the situation remains grave.
South Africa – The use of mass male circumcision is the newest debate in the fight against the ever mounting spread of HIV/AIDS. At the Cutting edge – male circumcision and HIV
Cote D’Ivoire – Peace brings with it mixed feelings for some in the country as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) leaves the country in the wake of peace. Peace now means that people, most who have now come to rely on MSF for free and adequate medical attenion will be forced to pay for health care fees, a price most cannot afford. The largest concern in the rising cost of health care is that children will suffer most, and their quality of life and health will begin to diminish.
Tanzania – The government has pledged that in the next school year it will hire more teachers in an effort to improve the quality of education for the countries children. The effort is a great step forward as the number of children enrolled in primary schools has dramatically increased. Unfortunately the battle to keep girls in school is far from over, as the pregnancy rate has also risen, causing increased dropouts (IRIN)
