High cost of living

In the past year alone, food prices have shot through the roof while other household essentials have undergone unprecedented price hikes. Coupled with a global financial meltdown, this situation has been mostly harsh on the poor. The Haiti food riots which began in April, 2008, quickly spread like wild fire to Egypt, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Cameroon… According to experts, this situation was in part created by careless government policies, the rising popularity of bio-fuels as well as the global financial crisis, among other factors…

Life in African cities more expensive than San Francisco, Luxembourg, Brussels, Miami…

Life in African cities more expensive than San Francisco, Luxembourg, Brussels, Miami…

Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc, is a leading global consulting and human resources firm. By virtue of Mercer’s multinational consultancies,...
Haiti: A mud eating population warns the world

Haiti: A mud eating population warns the world

At a corner street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, a sweets vendor takes 5 cents from a schoolgirl and hands her what looks like a...
Ramadan feast drives food prices through the roof

Ramadan feast drives food prices through the roof

After the Ramadan fast, Muslims of the Northern Nigeria have complained of their inability to afford the food items with which to break the...
New Zimbabwean dollar causes another stir

New Zimbabwean dollar causes another stir

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has brewed another shocker when it unveiled new $10 000 and $20 000 notes this morning. This coincides with the...
High electricity cost affecting industrial productivity

High electricity cost affecting industrial productivity

As fuel prices have risen so has electricity cost in Kenya and Kenyan industries are now faced with the harsh reality of business closures...
Côte d’Ivoire : Malnutrition concerns in country’s prisons

Côte d’Ivoire : Malnutrition concerns in country’s prisons

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has launched a nutritional feeding programme at the main prison in Abidjan after the incidence of...
Zimbabwe : Ban on NGOs lifted

Zimbabwe : Ban on NGOs lifted

Zimbabwe has lifted the ban on some non-governmental organisations (NGOs), but aid agencies have been cautious in their response. A notice from the social welfare...
Zimbabweans get a new lease on life as duty waiver makes food cheaper

Zimbabweans get a new lease on life as duty waiver makes food cheaper

Zimbabweans who have become dependant on cross-border forays to source necessities heaved a collective sigh of relief when the government decided to suspend import...
Counterfeit drugs and poverty increasingly going hand in glove

Counterfeit drugs and poverty increasingly going hand in glove

With a severe respiratory infection and a prescription for medicines that would cost 35,000 CFA francs (US$83) at official prices, Drissa Kone has a...
Moroccans concerned as government increases fuel prices

Moroccans concerned as government increases fuel prices

The Moroccan government’s decision to increase fuel prices from July 1st, has aroused concern among Moroccans. To offset rising oil prices, the Moroccan government has...
South Africans find new ways of drastically beating high fuel prices

South Africans find new ways of drastically beating high fuel prices

Burdened by record high petrol prices cheeky motorists in South Africa have devised strategies of beating the high prices. Just fill up and speed...
Egyptian inflation skyrockets

Egyptian inflation skyrockets

The Egyptian government this week reported that inflation rates in the country rose to over 21 percent in May, as a direct result of...
Sahel: Sahel climate change diary – Day 1

Sahel: Sahel climate change diary – Day 1

Jan Egeland, the UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on conflict is travelling in the Sahel to bring attention to climate change and conflict OUAGADOUGOU, 2...
FAO urges Zambia to consider cassava as major crop

FAO urges Zambia to consider cassava as major crop

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has urged Zambia to consider cassava as a high-value cash crop that can alleviate hunger at t he...
Congo : Controversial attitude to food crisis plan

Congo : Controversial attitude to food crisis plan

Measures announced by the Congolese government to keep food prices affordable have elicited both scepticism and praise from NGOs and citizens, some accusing the...
Ethiopia : Drought and high prices skyrocket food crisis

Ethiopia : Drought and high prices skyrocket food crisis

Food prices in Ethiopia have continued to soar with reports of an alarming hike of the cost of the cheapest grain, maize, in some...
Dangers of large scale biofuel production sounded by FAO

Dangers of large scale biofuel production sounded by FAO

The UN food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned governments of the negative effects of large-scale production of biofuels, cautioning that rapid increases in...