PUBLICATIONS

Author: Pauline Kuranchie June 16, 2026 Chef Fatmata Binta with a bowl of fonio [Image credit: Forbes / APAG Studios] According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), nearly 42 million people across West Africa and the Sahel are facing acute food insecurity. As the lean season (a period of food scarcity) begins this month and ends in August, this number could rise to 53 million.¹ Fonio, an indigenous, fast-maturing, and drought-tolerant grain, is one of the answers t

Author: Zeinab Abulhul, PhD June 9, 2026 [Image source: De an Sun at Unsplash] Introduction: A Question of Rights, Not Charity In the United States (U.S.) and across high-income countries, defined by the World Bank as nations with a gross national income per capita of $13,935 or more, the responsibility of caring for children and relatives with disabilities falls primarily on family members, the vast majority of whom are women. This consistent pattern stems from deeply roote

Author: Olivia Weninger June 4, 2026 [Image credit: Alamy] From the founding of our nation, capitalism has been held as an esteemed and innate value, often mentioned with equal importance to other ideals such as democracy and liberty. However, it is impossible for a structure to be truly democratic if it is also capitalistic. Capitalism reaps true benefits for only a small percentage of people while, by design, demanding continuous growth, efficiency, and market dominance to

Author: Yanile Velarde Gallegos June 3, 2026 [Photo credit: Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office] Legal Framework and Gaps in Access to Therapeutic Abortion Access to legal, safe, and free abortion is a right that is not equitably guaranteed across all countries in the world. Despite the recommendations issued by international human rights organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO)[1], access may vary depending on each country’s legal framework, and even between

Author: Kaitlyn Andres, MPH & MS June 2, 2026 An incarcerated worker operates a silkscreen machine, photographed as part of a Seattle Times investigation into prison labor in Washington. [Image credit: Alan Berner, The Seattle Times] The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States (U.S.) Constitution was passed in 1865 as a means to codify President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and abolish slavery. It stated that slavery would not exist in the U.S.; however, it a

Author: Gabrielle Meyers, MPP May 30, 2026 Glossary Allocate: to set apart for a specific purpose Compliant: conforming to requirements Degrading: associated with a low, destitute, or demoralized state Depict: to represent with a visual Destigmatized: remove associations of shame or disgrade from Discrepancies: instances or data that deviate from the norm Doctor-Patient Confidentiality: prevents a doctor from revealing patients’ medical information to third parties without th

Author: Lauryn Carr May 27, 2026 Students at Fall-Hamilton Elementary School participate in breathing and movement exercises designed to build calmness and self-regulation before learning. [Image credit: Fall-Hamilton Elementary School via School Library Journal] The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognizes education as a right that supports a child’s full development. Articles 6, 28, and 29 emphasize the importance of preparing children for responsible life in

Author: Kudzaiishe Seti, MSc May 26, 2026 Picture of illegal dumpsite in a residential suburb in the city of Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng Province, South Africa. [Image credit: Kudzaiishe Seti] Introduction African urban and rural spaces face unprecedented pressures in the 21st century. Population growth and economic ambitions have brought development, but this development has come with multiple challenges to service delivery and decent human habitation. Each area has its own uni

Author: Dr. Fred Sekindi May 21, 2026 Note: This study was sponsored by the Universal Coalition of Affirming Africans Uganda and published with permission through the Human Rights Research Center. Under Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, two women face life in prison following allegations of them kissing in public. [Image credit: RDNE Stock project / Pexels via MambaOnline] Introduction In Uganda, religion and culture are commonly cited as the basis for rejecting the LGBTQ+ c

Author: Nadia Nasri, MA May 20, 2026 Children in a refugee camp in Gaza. [Image credit: Hosny Salah via Pexels] Israel has been occupying the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip since 1967 (Amnesty International, 2025a). The Israeli military rules these territories, exerting extreme control over the Palestinian people, dictating their movement and controlling whether they can go to school or work, use their own land, leave the country, and