At its regional meeting in the Republic of Congo this week, the World Health Organization called for African governments to improve sanitation in an effort to cut the number of deadly cholera infections on the continent.

For years, wildlife managers and biologists in Africa have known that large mammals were disappearing outside reserves. There are historical accounts describing impressive populations of large mammals resident or migrating through areas that are nowadays devoid of anything bigger than passerines and rodents and that are now perhaps a patchwork of small scale land holdings instead of natural vegetation.

United Nation's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday formally announced his plans to travel to Sudan next week. From VOA's United Nation's bureau, Suzanne Presto reports on the U.N. chief's three-point plan for Sudan's Darfur region.

The African origin of early modern humans 200,000–150,000 years ago is now well documented, with archaeological data suggesting that a major migration from tropical east Africa to the Levant took place between 130,000 and 100,000 years ago via the presently hyper-arid Saharan-Arabian desert.

Underprivileged children in Africa can gain technical skills toward a better future, thanks to EDS and Digital Pipeline, a United Kingdom charity.

As the AIDS vaccine field moves toward larger-scale efficacy trials, investigators’ findings could reshape enrollment in developing nations

The media's message is clear: the AIDS epidemic will be the downfall of families in Africa. A new study by a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher calls that an overstatement. Her study shows that AIDS compounds the issue of poverty in households where poverty is already a prevailing issue, especially when a household loses its primary income earner to AIDS.

A ferry carrying hundreds of people for a wedding party has sunk in the Nile south of Cairo, police said dozens of passengers were missing, while at least six have been injured.

Witnesses in Somalia's capital say at least four people have been killed in renewed fighting between insurgents and government forces.

The research, conducted by paleoclimatologist Curt Stager of Paul Smith's College in Paul Smiths, N.Y. and colleagues, can be used by public health officials to increase measures against insect-borne diseases long before epidemics begin. The results are published online in the August 7 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Negotiations aimed at resolving Sudan's brutal Darfur conflict faltered before they began on Friday after a leading rebel groups refused to participate. As Nick Wadhams reports from our East Africa bureau in Nairobi, the boycott raises new doubts about prospects for peace in Darfur.

The U.N. refugee agency reports between February and May, more than 400,000 civilians fled the Somali capital Mogadishu. This was sparked by heavy fighting between the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government and insurgents. The UNHCR says another 27,000 people have fled renewed violence since June.