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30 June 2009
This year on June 21st, we celebrated Father's Day in Africa as the world does globally, honouring our dads and letting them know how important they are in our children's lives. Yet for many African children, this was a day that went unnoticed, or worse, was a reminder of an empty space in their lives.

The Fatherhood revolution is long overdue

28 June 2009
African Fathers Initiative recently completed research in Southern Africa about what children want from their fathers. It was amazing to see what a powerful role fathers play in the imagination of young children. Many told us of their rich relationships with their dads. Sadly, their teachers would tell us afterwards that it was all a heartbreaking fairytale – a wish list rather that a reality for these children.

USA: Bayh, Davis Introduce Legislation to Promote Healthy Families, Active Fatherhood

26 June 2009
With one in three children in the United States living apart from their biological fathers, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) and Congressman Danny Davis (D-IL) are renewing their efforts to promote healthy families and support American fathers who are trying to earn a livable wage and take a more active role in the lives of their children.

The White House Speaks Out on Fathering

26 June 2009
Friday, the same day that legislation to promote active fatherhood was introduced in both the Senate and the House, President Obama convened a town hall forum specifically focused on fathering. Regardless of politics, I consider it a very encouraging sign that responsible fathering is being discussed and championed in the highest office in our land. The President was on point with his comments about why fathering is important and his challenge for all dads to step up and be involved. See his brief PSA and his remarks at the meeting, or read his article in Sunday’s Parade Magazine.

Father’s day retreat June 20th and 21st Nelspruit, Mpumalanga

4 June 2009
Take time out and join a group of men in discussing the joys and pain of fatherhood. Led by a professional male facilitator, the retreat will open spaces for fathers to also reflect on issues of masculinity in a contemporary society.

Cutting edge: Male circumcision and HIV

16 May 2009
Male circumcision (removal of the foreskin of the male penis) is increasingly gaining currency as part of strategies to reduce HIV-infection. In sub-Saharan Africa, the worst affected region in the world, researchers say that male circumcision (MC) could prevent six million new HIV infections in the next two decades. Yet there is need to examine just how far circumcision offers protection for men and women against HIV and AIDS.

Commentary: Man up and be a real dad

15 May 2009
"I'll kill all y'all." Imagine looking at the man whose DNA you carry standing in your home, telling you those chilling words, as he wields a shotgun. The frightening image is a scary thought. But according to former Major League Baseball star Darryl Strawberry, it was an actual scene, one that begins his book, "Straw: Finding My Way."

Stopping violence: A role for fathers?

14 May 2009
Good fathers help their boys treat women with respect. They lead by example by respecting their partners, wives, and the mothers of their children. They let their daughters know that they must not accept abusive behaviour from men as the norm. They help them tell men that their father would never do it, would not sanction their brothers or other relatives do it so why should they accept it from any other man?

Using the 2010 Football World Cup to engage boys and men to achieve gender equality

14 May 2009
Sport has emerged recently as a way to tackle a range of development-related issues such as peace building, post-disaster relief and health promotion. Sonke co-hosted a meeting in Cape Town in July to look at the use of sport to promote social change.

A Father's Magic Touch: Building Positive Partnerships in Thailand

14 May 2009
BANGKOK, Thailand. Jenjira Boonlom lies wearily on her bed in the post-partum ward of the Bangkhen district hospital, still weak from her Caesarean operation a week ago. Despite the pain, she feels blissful, appreciating Vorayuth, her husband, and his dedication to her and to their little Dream, the one-week-old baby girl on his lap.

Aka Pygmies know why men have nipples: Congo

12 May 2009
The Aka Pygmies, who live in a tropical forest region on the northern border of the African Congo, have proved to be the stars of paternal involvement. Aka fathers do more infant caregiving than fathers in any other known society. On average, they hold, or are within arms reach of their infants 47 per cent of the time.

African Father of The Year Essay Contest 2009-10

10 May 2009
The African Father of the Year Stories Contest that will be run through late 2009 to just before Fathers Day in June 2010 is to raise awareness about the importance of Africa's fathering. For the past decade Essay Contests have helped USA and United Kingdom fathers groups to connect with more than 800,000 children, fathers and families. Now we bring it to Africa.

Oscar van Leer Fellowships for journalists in selected developing countries

7 May 2009
Through the Oscar van Leer Fellowships, we aim to contribute to a gradual improvement in the quality and quantity of media coverage of early childhood issues by training up-and-coming journalists. The fellowship consists of a four-week, expenses-paid training course in The Netherlands covering journalism and children's issues.

Early Childhood Development Can Mitigate the Impact of HIV/AIDS

7 May 2009
International research confirms that the first six years of life are a critical period of children's growth and development. They form the foundation for achievement of individual potential. To achieve this, we must meet young children's rights to survival, protection, development and participation. In sub-Saharan Africa, these rights are severely compromised by the twin scourges of poverty and HIV/AIDS.

SOUTH AFRICA: Activists Ask Government to Integrate Men and Boys in Gender Policies

3 May 2009
Gender activists are calling on the new South African government to improve the country’s gender legislation. Current gender policies focus on women, ignoring the rights, roles and responsibility of men and boys, they say.

Kenyan women hit men with sex ban

1 May 2009
Women’s activist groups in Kenya have slapped their partners with a week-long sex ban in protest over the infighting plaguing the national unity government.

UN deputy secretary-general calls on men to do more HIV care

8 March 2009
Men need to play a more active role in caring for people living with HIV so that women have the chance to participate in public life, said UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro.

UNDP supports all-Ukrainian responsible fatherhood school in Zakarpattya

2 March 2009
Certain stereotypes that exist in Ukrainian society often create obstacles to equal division of domestic chores and selection of flexible tools leading to harmonious family life overall. "In Ukraine it is common to think that women are the only ones responsible for raising children while men have to work and gain money. This stereotype deprives men from their right to educate their children and reduces the importance of fathers. As a result, women have to choose between career and family while men can not take a parental leave to stay with their child," Larysa Kobelyanska said.

Restorative justice transforming families

5 December 2008
An attractive, smartly dressed couple, Anne and Phillip Govender, sit waiting in the reception area waiting to be called into a mediation office. Their anxiety and nervousness is clear from their body language. However, a well-trained and articulate community based mediator from Khulisa?s Justice and Restoration Programme (JARP) soon addresses their anxiety and questions about restorative justice.

Taxis driving message home on gender violence

4 December 2008
If you jump into a combi during the next couple of weeks, you may just be greeted with something a bit different from the usual fare of thumping Kwaito and house beats. Launched 4 December at Ekurhuleni Municipality, Tjoon'in is an audio CD designed specifically for playing in public transport as part of 16 Days of Activism, to raise awareness among taxi drivers and passengers about gender violence.

Violence tears a family apart

4 December 2008
Have you ever dragged yourself up the staircase just so you could find a place of safety only to find yourself in a corner of no escape? Have you looked for answers while your eyes tear, or hands bandage your own wounds caused by your spouse only to find out you are living in confusion and hurt? Well! This is me. I am 30 years old. I have been married for 10 years and l have two girls. I was happily married to a man who is now 40 years old. 3 years ago I woke up one morning only to realise last night was not a dream.

Chased away for being disabled

3 December 2008
I was born 3 of July 1955 at Katlehong and grew up with polio after being diagnosed when l was eight months old. I stayed at the Germiston Hospital, Baragwaneth, and later ended up in Natal-Spruit Hospital where they kept disabled people. In 1993, l received an RDP house. It was nice because l was working and l could do whatever l wanted. My house was very beautiful.

Disability does not mean inability

3 December 2008
My name is Grace Dimakatso Maleka, I was married to my husband for 20 years. We were blessed with three children, two of whom are still alive. Since we began to live together we did not have a happy relationship, we used to fight every weekend when he came home drunk.

Measuring gender violence is a must

3 December 2008
When the South African Police Services (SAPS) released its latest set of statistics mid-year, the numbers again showed a decrease of about seven percent on all reported ?contact? crimes such as murder, assault and sexual assault.

Bernhard: A HIV+ father's story

30 November 2008
I am a member of the Positive Speakers in my local support group for people living with HIV/Aids in Namibia. When I tested HIV positive for the first time I did not believe my result. I had been tested at a private doctor and didn?t get any counselling. I went three times for testing at the local clinics in Walvis Bay. The results were the same. I thought it would never happen to me because I am Boxer, powerful and strong in my body. It was very emotional and painful for me. I kept it secret but that also caused me pain. I thought that I was going to die and my family and friends were going to discriminate against me; gossip about me.

Love for sale - or the next best thing

30 November 2008
When classes finish at Francisco Manyanga Secondary School in Maputo, capital of Mozambique, most teachers and students head for the bus while others walk home. Júlia*, 16, a 10th-grade student, gets into a luxury car, where a man who looks to be in his 40s waits for her. The man is not her father, but her boyfriend, Lucas*.

Mathematical Model Suggests New Approach to AIDS

30 November 2008
Scientists have proposed a radical new strategy to halt the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but its implementation could have human rights implications, say commentators. Under the approach, published in The Lancet, people in the worst hit areas - Sub-Saharan Africa for example - would be tested for HIV annually and those found positive would be immediately put on antiretroviral (ARV) drugs.

We can save more babies from AIDS, say South Africa researchers

30 November 2008
A ground-breaking South African study has provided the first hard evidence that treating HIV-positive babies with antiretroviral (ARV) medicines from as early as six weeks dramatically improves their chances of survival. The study, conducted in Cape Town and Soweto, Johannesburg's largest township, and published in this week's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, found that infants started on ARV therapy immediately after diagnosis were 76 percent less likely to die than those who began treatment only after displaying clinical symptoms. Early treatment also greatly reduced the progression of disease.

Zimbabwe health system in crisis

30 November 2008
Stanley Takaona, deputy president of the Zimbabwe HIV/AIDS Activist Union, has spent the past month volunteering at two state hospitals in the capital, Harare, after health workers began a work stoppage that has virtually closed both facilities, leaving hundreds of people without medical assistance. Takaona, who is HIV positive and a counsellor, told IRIN/PlusNews that thousands of HIV-positive Zimbabweans regularly sought treatment and collected their antiretroviral (ARV) drugs at the government-run clinics in the Parirenyatwa and Harare hospitals, and he could not watch other HIV-positive people suffering.

Double infection: HIV and conservative ideology

27 November 2008
Clink. Boom. Screech. Stop in your tracks. Out of the amiable political correctness of empowering widows and paying home-based carers, comes a sudden, jarring dissonance. A representative of JournAIDS, a group of Malawian journalists who specialise on the epidemic, presents his group?s support for mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women. Not routine testing, the standard practice in Malawi. Mandatory.

Police Scale Up Violence Unit to Prevent Abuse of Women and Children in Ghana

27 November 2008
HO, Ghana ? Assistant Commissioner of Police, Beatrice Vib-Sanzire, is a woman on a mission. This modern-day crusader as head of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) wants all children and women in Ghana who suffer in silence to know that they can come to the police to get the support they need to end their abuse.

The AIDS scare was one of the most distorted, duplicitous and cynical public health panics

26 November 2008
Finally we have a high-level admission that there is no threat of a global Aids pandemic among heterosexuals. After 25 years of official scaremongering about western societies being ravaged by the disease ? with salacious, tombstone-illustrated government propaganda warning people to wear a condom or "die of ignorance" ? the head of the World Health Organisation's HIV/Aids department says there is no need for heterosexuals to fret.

ZIMBABWE: Global Fund deadline missed

23 November 2008
The future of Zimbabwe's AIDS programmes hangs in the balance after the government failed to meet the deadline of Thursday 6 November to return over US$7 million to the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Earlier this week, executive director of the Fund Michel Kazatchkine warned that no future grants from the aid agency would be awarded until the remaining US$7.3 million had been transferred to commercial banks by the due date.

Boys of Mass Destruction

11 November 2008
In a twist of realism, a new feature film, ?Johnny Mad Dog?, uses a cast of actual ex-child soldiers from Liberia to portray the violent lives of youth forced to participate in armed conflict. The original script was adapted from Emmanuel Dongala?s acclaimed book ?Johnny Chien Mechant?. Johnny, 15, and his small commando unit comprised of young boys ages 6 to 15, rip through an unnamed African country, terrorising and slaying everything in their path. Director Jean-Stephane Sauvaire contrasts this lengthy killing spree with the narrative thread of Laokole, a 13-year-old schoolgirl, who along with her disabled father and young brother, are forced to flee their city, occupied by child-soldier militias. Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier and now an internationally known rapper, told IPS at a screening of the film at the United Nations in New York, ?The escaping of refugees and the fear in people?s eyes in the movie took me back to a journey that I once experienced myself.?

Liberian Men and Women Unite to Fight Rape

27 October 2008
MONROVIA, Liberia ? Twenty-one-year-old Aminata Keita remembers the exact moment when attackers broke into her home. The four men, armed with guns and knives, stormed the house at 3:35 on the morning of March 28, going from room to room gathering money and any other valuables they could find. After they were finished robbing the house, they took turns raping her and her 20-year-old niece, Makula.

Campaign Says 'No' to the Sexual Violence that Rages in DRC

19 September 2008
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo ? In mid-March hundreds of Congolese women, men and girls raised banners that read, Together, let us say No to the silence, for the dignity of the Congolese and Enough sexual violence!.

Actor Isiah Washington Helps Children In Sierra Leone

5 August 2008
Actor Isaiah Washington has launched a new campaign through his Gondobay Manga Foundation and is aiming to help improve the lives of one million children in Sierra Leone. With the ?Reach One Million? campaign, Washington is hoping to raise a minimum of $250,000 to help with social and economic issues in the West African republic.

Africa's future, Africa's challenge: early childhood care and development in Sub-Saharan Africa

30 July 2008
The book explains that the coverage of early childhood development programmes remains very low in sub-Saharan Africa, especially among children under three. The EFA GMR 2007 indicated that Sub-Saharan Africa?s gross preprimary enrollment ratio of 12 per cent (compared with 48 per cent for all other developing regions worldwide) is contributing to low primary completion and poor performance in primary grades. Malnutrition of children under five in Africa has increased in the last 10 years: 75 million of these children are chronically malnourished and stunted. Iodine deficiency disorders have been found to reduce the IQs of school children by 13 points; anemia causes many pupils to achieve less than their potential. These factors lead to later enrollment and reduce primary school completion rates.

Diversity, complexity and change in parenting - UK, July 2008

24 July 2008
This brand new study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examined parenting in Britain during early and middle childhood within different social and cultural groups in Britain, using a ?parenting score? derived from different measurements of parents? relationships with their children. The study was based on parents? reports of attitudes, feelings and behaviour recorded in response to specific questions relating to parenting. The study also assessed changes in parenting across time.

Smaller Families, Manlier Men - Uganda

21 July 2008
For Ugandan men, the equation is often a simple one: an abundance of children equals virility and security. This deeply rooted belief has frightening implications, however. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the population of the East African country -- now 31 million -- will exceed 36 million by 2015, and is projected to reach 54 million in 2025. If this trend continues, it will rocket to 117 million by 2050. Projections are based on the current fertility rate of 6.7 children per woman.

Fathers Day a long way behind Mothers Day in calls home

15 July 2008
An international long distance carrier reported that in 2006 phone calls routed over its network revealed that people spent 48% more time calling home on Mothers Day than on Fathers Day. Mothers Day continued to rank within the five busiest call volume dayswhereas Fathers Day failed to make into the top twenty.

British Study Asks: Nature or Nurture?

14 July 2008
Researchers at the University of Birmingham in Great Britain have completed a study on what constitutes meaningful fatherhood. With growing fathers' rights concerns in Great Britain (and in other countries), the study explored whether being the biological dad or being a nurturing dad was more important to fathers. The results are in: fathers find greater reward in being involved. One of the authors, John Ivie, said, "All the groups of men that we spoke to felt strongly that to be a father in a meaningful sense you have to provide more than the genetic material. Being a father meant playing a role in caring, providing and protecting a child. The men felt that this should take precedence over genetics in giving men a say in a child's life." Read a summary of the study results and let us know if you agree or disagree.

Kasse Mady, "Weeping Father": Mali

24 June 2008
Kasse Mady is one of West Africa?s greatest voices and one of the most cherished singers in Mali. He is known for his profound knowledge of Mali?s deepest oral and musical traditions, for the sheer beauty and ethereal quality of his tenor voice. Today, Kasse Mady, 59, is married to three wives with whom he has 10 children. Many, particularly in the West, would disapprove of polygamy, considering it oppressive of women. It is, however a feature of Malian culture and has important impacts on Kasse Mady?s fatherhood role.

South Africa: Obama's Brave Step Into Minefield of Fatherhood

20 June 2008
"We have got to have a campaign to restore fatherhood in this country." Fathers in the parenting rather than the simpler wham-bam-conception sense could do a lot to stem the transmission of HIV, he believed. But in SA they were scarce. This conversation came back to me on Sunday as I watched Barack Obama's Father's Day speech on YouTube, another great one, delivered to more than 3000 African-American worshippers at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. "Too many fathers are MIA, too many fathers are AWOL," Obama intoned, departing from his text, real passion in his voice. "There's a hole in your heart if you don't have a male figure in the home that can guide you and lead you and set a good example for you.

Father of African Cinema, Ousmane Sembene - One Year After

19 June 2008
On Saturday, June 9, 2007 Africa awoke to the death of a prominent son. The world awoke to the death of an icon. Ousmane Sembene, the renowned Senegalese filmmaker and the world's most recognized personification of African cinema was no more. He died peacefully at the age of 84 in his home in Senegal after a brief illness. Credited to be the first African ever to direct a full feature film, Sembene had lived with the appellation of "Father of African cinema" since the release of his second full length movie La Noire De?. (Black Girl) in 1966. The movie was the first movie by an African to win a major award at the Cannes Film Festival.

UNFPA Trains Nigerian Men and Women to Bring Better Reproductive Health to their Communities

19 June 2008
ILESHE, Nigeria ? Prophet Adebisi is an imposing man. A middle-aged community leader here in Ileshe, a rural town in southern Nigeria, he has a deep voice and square build that seem to command authority. And he is putting that authority to use, directing a group of younger men from the town on seating arrangements.

Youssouf's Story: Mali

19 June 2008
Youssouf Traore, 28, earns just £40 a month in a hotel laundry in Bamako, Mali?s capital. As we sip glasses of green tea outside the small room he shares with four other young men, the sounds of Alpha Blondy?s reggae beat nearly drown our conversation. ?Marriage is very expensive now,? explains Youssouf, a single father.

The Tragedy of America's Disappearing Fathers

14 June 2008
As we celebrate Father's Day tomorrow, we should reflect upon a sad fact: It is now common to meet young people in our big city schools, foster-care homes and juvenile centers who do not know their dads. Most of those children have come face-to-face with their father at some point; but most have little regular contact with the man, or have any faith that he loves or cares about them. When fatherless young people are encouraged to write about their lives, they tell heartbreaking stories about feeling like "throwaway people." In the privacy of the written page, their hard, emotional shells crack open to reveal the uncertainty that comes from not knowing if their father has any interest in them. The stories are like letters to unknown dads ? some filled with imaginary scenes about what it might be like to have a dad who comes home and puts his arm around you or plays with you.

UNIFEM & MenEngage sign MOU

9 June 2008
UNIFEM and MenEngage have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will forge partnerships and projects to tackle gender based violence.

UK Dads to be on childrens birth certificates

7 June 2008
The UK government has just proposed a change in the law so that all unmarried fathers will be on the birth certificate, ending the practice whereby if the mum doesn't want his name on, she doesn't have to.( UK White Paper with story)

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