Africa
We work around Africa to increase access to basic services, help after humanitarian emergencies and empower girls and women, ultimately helping people lift themselves out of poverty. In these blogs country teams discuss their work and progress towards these and other goals.
Tanzania's founding father Mwalimu (Swahili teacher) Julius Nyerere was certainly both erudite and multi-lingual; as he guided his country to independence in the 1960s he translated Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and Julius Caesar into Swahili in his spare time. He …
Despite the rise in school attendance in Ghana, around 440,000 kids are still out-of-school (61 million globally). The United Nations estimates it would cost $16 billion a year to get these out-of-school kids into class by 2015 to reach the …
Over the past 5 years we have almost entirely re-engineered the way DFID manages programmes and made some significant improvements. We have introduced, among other things: more rigorous design templates, tougher spending controls, better contract management policies, systematic quality assurance stronger use of …
With a day job dedicated to preaching the virtues of education - and how it should improve, I recently felt obliged to get my hands 'dirty' once more and enrolled on a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to see what …
When I started at DFID in October 2010, I didn't expect to be getting on a plane a year later to move to Sudan. My first year at DFID was spent working in our Internal Audit Department, ensuring that the money DFID …
After 18 months my time in Ghana is up. In the frantic rush to pack up, leave and say goodbye I thought I would write down some final thoughts. Warmth – of the humid tropical sun, of stifling evenings – …
Abubakari Sulemana Hafiz has a lot to be proud of. He is one of 11 undergraduates who are part of Ghana's first cohort of veterinary science students at the University of Ghana. This achievement is even more impressive as until he …
A recent experience brought to life for me some of the issues facing developing countries trying to improve tax collection. I have lots of family in Kenya, and a few days ago, my dad received the news that a cargo …
A guest blog by Susanna Moorehead, DFID West and Southern Africa Director, about her recent visit to a center for girls living in the street in Kinshasa. During my recent visit to DRC, I witnessed life in the huge, vibrant but troubled capital city, Kinshasa. In …
Tanzanian President Dr. Jakaya Kikwete looked bemused as we greeted him with a classroom-like chorus; “Welcome to the education lab, Mr President!” The education 'laboratory' was one of six that government leaders visited in a conference facility on the outskirts …
Recent Comments