Thought Leader

Somalia’s prime minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon, on October 28 launched the Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF), which was outlined in the Somali Compact, the overarching framework for all international donor and partner engagement with that country. The key objectives of the SDRF include the coordination and alignment of development assistance and increased use of…

On the bright side, the Nairobi Westgate mall tragedy must bring Kenyans together again and perhaps even go some distance to heal the wounds from their recent internal conflict. Conflict, in general, including the very thing that has just happened to the Kenyans at the hands of al-Shabab, has been a prolific source of underdevelopment…

By Dr Unni Karunakara Our announcement on August 14 that we were closing all our medical programmes in Somalia sent shockwaves through political and humanitarian communities. It came at a moment when world leaders, for the first time in decades, began making positive noises about a country on the road to recovery and with a…

By Namhla Thando Matshanda On a recent trip to the Horn of Africa I spent a substantial amount of time in Somali-inhabited areas. Most of this time was spent in Ethiopia’s Somali regional state, with a brief visit to the autonomous northern region of Somalia, Somaliland. I feel compelled to write this piece in the…

By Sandra Banjac The first time we are confronted by an image of a malnourished child we are crippled by guilt and deliberate over ways to help. The second time we see the same type of image we pause, ponder and then flip the page. The third time we turn the page without second thought….