U.S. President Barack Obama has approved $105 million in new drought and famine aid to East Africa. The White House says the United States will continue to help those who desperately need food, shelter, water and medicine. So far this year, the United States has sent about $565 million in aid to Somalia, Ethiopia and […]
Obama Offers $105 Million in New Drought, Famine Aid for E. Africa
US to Offer $100 Million in New Famine Aid for East Africa
The United States is set to offer $100 million in new drought and famine aid to East Africa, as a high-level U.S. team visits the region. U.S. officials say the new aid will be announced Monday. The United States has previously contributed more than $450 million to combat the regional drought. The U.S. delegation led […]
US Team in Kenya to Assess and Address Drought
A high-level U.S. government team has arrived in Kenya to assess the impact of the regional drought and discuss solutions with Kenyan officials. The team, led by Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, arrived in Kenya Monday morning. Biden then went to the Dadaab refugee camps, where tens of thousands of Somali […]
Kenya Minister Denies Funding Somali Terror Group
Kenya’s tourism minister has rejected a United Nations report that accuses him and other prominent Kenyans of unwittingly funding activities of Somali insurgent group al-Shabab. Najib Balala told VOA Wednesday that he has not financed al-Shabab and denied having links to the al-Qaida-linked group. Balala said Wednesday that he does not believe in the Islamist […]
Study: Text Messages Improves Malaria Treatment in Africa
Researchers in Kenya say simple text messaging to health care workers is an inexpensive way to remind them how to properly and effectively treat African children suffering with malaria. Their study appears in the British medical journal Lancet. It says health workers in the field in Kenya were sent messages urging them to check on […]
Former Kenyan Minister to Face Trial on Corruption Charges
Kenya’s High Court has ruled that former industrialization minister Henry Kosgey should face trial over charges he illegally imported cars into the country. Kosgey has denied the charges. He is one of four ministers in the Kenyan government to either step down or resign since 2010 over graft charges. Kosgey is also chairman of Kenyan […]
Kenyans Get to Sue Britain for Alleged Mau Mau Abuses
Four Kenyans have won court approval to sue the British government for alleged torture during the anti-colonial Mau Mau rebellion. The four Kenyans, all in their 70s and 80s, say they were beaten and sexually assaulted by British colonial officers trying to suppress the rebellion during the 1950s. The British government tried to have the […]
Kenya Burns 5 Tons of Contraband Ivory
Kenya’s president has set fire to more than five tons of elephant ivory to highlight the problem of poaching in East Africa. President Mwai Kibaki lit a pile of ivory that included more than 300 confiscated tusks as well as more than 40,000 ivory trinkets. The estimated value of the ivory was $16 million. Mr. […]
Kenya Wants to Stop Flow of Somali Refugees
Kenyan and British officials met in Nairobi Sunday to discuss the drought that has sent thousands of Somalis fleeing into Kenya to escape starvation. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga said Kenya would like feeding programs to be set up on the Somali side of the border to stop the flow of refugees. He also renewed […]
Kenya to Reopen Unused Refugee Camp in Dadaab
Kenya has agreed to reopen an unused refugee camp in eastern Dadaab, as starving Somalis affected by a severe drought pour in from across the border. The United Nations praised the move on Friday, saying it will ease rapidly growing pressure on existing camp sites at the sprawling refugee complex. The United Nations says the […]