Equatorial Guinea abolishes death penalty
Capital punishment was “totally abolished” in the oil-rich central African country after the president signed a new penal code.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Africa’s first green hydrogen plant to be complete in Namibia by 2024
French power producer HDF Energy is constructing a 3.1 billion Namibian dollar (USD $181.25 million) hydrogen plant powered by solar panels.
Togo achieves ‘major feat’ of eliminating four neglected tropical diseases
The WHO has hailed the west African country as first in world to stamp out Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, sleeping sickness and trachoma
Sierra Leone passes new laws to boost landowners’ rights
Sierra Leone’s parliament has passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms.
Adopt-a-Forest climate project in Kenya pays locals to keep trees alive until they mature
The program was started to address the lack of after-care, a major flaw in many forest-planting projects in Kenya and beyond.
Cheetah reintroduction in Malawi brings vultures back to the skies
Four species of critically endangered vulture have returned to a park in southern Malawi from which they disappeared more than 20 years ago, due to the reintroduction of cheetahs, lions, and the carcasses they left behind.
Kenya’s Kuruwitu corals make remarkable recovery, thanks to local conservation drive
In 2005, residents of the area took the unprecedented step of setting aside a 30-hectare Marine Protected Area (MPA). Seventeen years on, the area has made a remarkable recovery.
Rwanda’s mountain gorillas make strong comeback in conservation win
When American naturalist Dian Fossey moved to Rwanda half a century ago to study mountain gorillas, their numbers were dwindling, down to just 254 individuals, but today they’re up to over 600.
Botswana reduces mother-baby HIV transmission rates from 40% to below 1% since 1999
Botswana has became the first high-burden country to receive the WHO’s silver tier award for its efforts to cut child transmission rates.
Rhino population gets a new sanctuary in Mozambique
This project, which was started by the Peace Parks Foundation more than six years ago, aims to create a sanctuary in the Zinave National Park of Mozambique, which experienced a drop in wildlife in part due to the 1977 civil war which lasted 15 years.