by Kristin Palitza | Gaet Teidouma

In Gaet Teidouma, a small village in a plain of sand and rocks more than 800 km (500 miles) east of Mauritania's capital Nouakchott, Kertouma Mint Sedatty tries to feed her 8-month-old son Mohammed in a tent made from sticks and rags. It's not going well. Mohammed sucks desperately, but Sedatty hardly has milk to feed the child. "We ran out of food a few days ago," says the 39-year-old mother of seven. "My children are hungry. Our three cows can't find anything to eat and stopped giving milk. It's going to be a very difficult year." She pauses. "Most people won't survive."

By Kristin Palitza

CAPE TOWN, Jan 25, 2012, (IPS) - When a food crisis its the continent, African countries tend to look to the international donor community to mobilise aid. But a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree with extremely nutritious leaves could help poor, arid nations to fight food insecurity and malnutrition on their own.

by Kristin Palitza

CAPE TOWN, Nov 24, 2011 (IPS) - South Africa's Rooibos tea has become a popular drink all around the globe. But prices of the herbal brew could shoot up within the next decade, as the Rooibos plant can only grow in one small region in the world - which is severely affected by climate change.http://www.kristinpalitza.com/english-articles/rss-comments-entry-13861237.xmlKristin PalitzaMon, 07 Nov 2011 07:32:18 +0000http://www.kristinpalitza.com/english-articles/rehabilitating-former-child-soldiers-who-liked-killing.html247599:2481275:13622805Inter Press Service | 2 Nov 2011

by Kristin Palitza

BUKAVU, DR Congo, Nov 2, 2011 (IPS) - Murhula's* life changed forever when he was nine years old. It was the year that he learned to kill, torture and rape.

It was the year militia entered his school in a small village near Bukavu, South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and forced him and several others to follow them into their camps in the forest, where they trained them to become soldiers.]]>http://www.kristinpalitza.com/english-articles/rss-comments-entry-13622805.xmlKristin PalitzaTue, 01 Nov 2011 15:53:49 +0000http://www.kristinpalitza.com/english-articles/government-to-turn-its-back-on-textile-industry.html247599:2481275:13552775Inter Press Service | 28 Oct 2011

By Kristin Palitza, Maseru

Lesotho's textile sector - the country's largest employer - is regarded my many as the only way out of the poverty trap in a tiny kingdom where more than half of the population lives on less than 1.25 dollars a day. But what many do not know is that the government and the World Bank have unofficially turned their backs on the sector and will soon cut important subsidies.

The humanitarian situation in Congo's eastern provinces is unlikely to bolster regional support for President Joseph Kabila

By Kristin Palitza, Bukavu

The army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has had a rough ride since May 2009. That was when President Joseph Kabila started to integrate into the force about half of the estimated 330,000 militia who waged an eight-year civil war. Around 5 million people were killed in the conflict.

By Kristin Palitza

BUKAVU, DR Congo, Oct 17, 2011 (IPS) -Angeline Mwarusena, 61, sits on a small wooden bench in front of her hut, head bent, shoulders slumped. Her voice is barely audible. Four years ago, three soldiers from the Democratci Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) entered her home, hit her and raped her repeatedly. One after the other.

TIME | 19 Sep 2011

By Kristin Palitza

When Zambians go to the polls on Sept. 20, their decision on which box to tick won't be based on traditional election issues such as good governance, security or service delivery. Their votes will revolve around one key question: Are they for or against China's heavy investment in their country?

In Malawi and beyond, child workers as young as five are being exposed to the toxic dangers of tobacco harvesting

by Kristin Palitza

At the height of the tobacco harvest season, Malawi's lush, flowing fields are filled with young children picking the big green-yellow leaves. Some can count their age on one hand.