Last month, upwards of 20,000 Brazilians of African descent, predominantly women, came together to protest the deep seated racism, including the targeting and murder of Black youth by the police, and gender based violence in Brazil. This single act of protest shatters the myth of a racially harmonious nation.

Haiti’s 9 August election was a sham. Although the popular Fanmi Lavalas party of ousted President Jean Betrand Aristide was allowed to contest after 11 years, the ruling party of the Western-backed despot Martelly hired armed goons who disrupted the election throughout the country. There are fears about what will happen during presidential elections next month.

The charges against the former president – deposed by France, the US and Canada - center around corruption, money laundering and drug related, but are part of an ongoing politically motivated harassment against him

Margaret Mitchell Armand is a Haitian scholar, poet, artist and trained psycholo-gist. Born in Haiti and raised between Haiti and the US, Margaret's' life and work are framed by her faith in the African religious traditions and a celebration of Haitian Vodou.

Statistics show that the numbers of people living with HIV and dying of AIDS/TB in Haiti has decreased dramatically over the past 10 years due to a policy directed at prevention based on education and increased access to treatment. But there are other very grim realities excluded from the official reports

cc D MThree activists – Jean-Louis Elijah Joseph, Esther Pierre and human rights lawyer Patrice Florvilus – are now in hiding and in fear for their lives because of defending the interests of people displaced by the 2010 earthquake

Contrary to some media reports, Haiti is far from being on the road to recovery. The situation of women’s access to healthcare is particularly terrifying

The state of waste management and sanitation is catastrophic in Haiti after the earthquake. Things are likely to worsen as there are no plans for any improvements. International NGOs are leaving or scaling down – after making their money

The problem with healthcare in Haiti is that there is no system, no structures, no plan - at least not one that has been implemented. The healthcare facilities are wholly inadequate

Beneath a duplicitous discourse of humanitarian and development assistance to Haiti, economic exploitation continues in the consolidation of the Free Trade Zone and creation of a mega assembly line in Caracol. Sokari Ekine traces this exploitation to the founding of the world’s first black republic in 1804