The mostly peaceful Kenyan elections this year—a welcome contrast to the communal bloodletting that followed the 2007 contest—reflects structural reforms in Kenya’s political system, a new electoral alliance between former political foes and internationally supported work to prevent the return of mass violence, according to a panel of specialists who gathered at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) on May 21.

NAIROBI , May 22 2013 (IPS) - Amid warnings that Kenya’s agricultural water use is surpassing sustainable levels and adversely affecting food security, biodiversity researchers say that agrobiodiversity should be considered as a vital tool to combat this.

“In order to feed the nation, the country must explore agrobiodiversity, specifically (the growing of) vegetables and fruits, which have been neglected in favour of maize,” Mary Abukutsa-Onyango, a professor of horticulture at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, told IPS.

05/22/2013 10:12 GMT

NAIROBI, May 22, 2013 (AFP) - Kenya's reconciliation commission has said the president, security forces and judiciary should publicly apologise for past abuses going back 50 years, its final report seen Wednesday said.

Set up after bloody post-election violence in 2007-08, Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) handed over its weighty four-volume report -- containing tens of thousands of testimonies gathered over four years detailing rights abuses the abuse of rights in the country -- to President Uhuru Kenyatta late Tuesday.

Following the recent inter-clan conflicts in Rhamu-Mandera, the Kenya Red Cross society (KRCS) has today on 14th May 2013, started distributing food and conducting medical outreaches among the affected population.

Cross border movements to/from Somalia and major movements within Gedo, Middle and Lower Juba

LONDON, 21 May 2013 (IRIN) - Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are forced from their homes by violence or natural disasters. But the face of displacement is changing: While the popular view of displacement is one of sprawling rural camps, displaced people are now just as likely to be living in urban areas, often hidden from view.

DRC, Sudan and Somalia continue to host the highest number of IDPs and persons severely affected by conflict. A new report provides in-depth analysis of the situation in 12 countries.

Introduction

This review is concerned with the financing arrangements for programmes that address acute malnutrition at scale through the community-based management of acute malnutrition (CMAM). The CMAM approach is geared towards the early detection, treatment and counselling of moderately and severely acutely malnourished children, in the community, by community agents.

A new infographic shows the affected areas in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania and highlights the need for improved cross-border disaster risk reduction and flood mitigation measures.