Miss South Africa pageant opens its doors to transgender women
For the first time in South Africa’s beauty pageant history, transgender women are allowed to compete.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa spans dozens of countries south of the Sahara, each with distinct challenges and achievements. This archive collects milestones in health, education, conservation, and economic opportunity from across the region — reported with context and care.
Uganda, Ghana, and Rwanda begin using drones to deliver medical supplies to millions
The three nations are using medical supply drones to reach far off communities, and together the technology promises a faster and more reliable way to deliver life-saving drugs and supplies to more than 22 million Africans.
Liberia, Mexico, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone to support deployment of women in peace operations through UN Elsie Initiative Fund
The five receiving countries are in the process of conducting an in-depth barrier assessment to identify the obstacles to women’s selection and deployment to international peace operations and to start implementing their national plans.
World’s first 3D-printed school planned for Madagascar
The school is a pilot project and, looking to the future, Thinking Huts hopes to expand the idea to provide more schools elsewhere in Madagascar, and even throughout in the world.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala makes history as first woman and first African to lead the WTO
Okonjo-Iweala said she was “honoured” to be selected to lead the organization, and vowed to take on global economic and health challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Zero rhinos poached in Kenya in 2020
2020 was remarkable year for rhino protection in Kenya where not one single rhino lost its horn or lost its life last year—a feat not achieved since 1999.
Dutch court orders Shell Oil to pay for harm done to Nigerian farmers
Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary must pay punitive restitution to Nigerian villages for oil spill contamination that brought death, illness, and destruction to Nigerian farmers and communities.
Africa’s Great Green Wall effort gets $14 billion cash injection
The Great Green Wall project seeks to restore a massive strip of desert stretching 5,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Red Sea by planting trees and grasslands.
Subscriptions to satellite alerts linked to decreased deforestation in Africa
Deforestation dropped 18% in two years in African countries where organizations subscribed to receive warnings from a new satellite service.
Algorithm helps find world’s poorest people to send them cash directly
GiveDirectly and UC Berkeley designed an algorithm that uses AI to identify the poorest individuals in the poorest areas in order to provide them with cash relief.