Just weeks before the August general elections in Zambia, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) released a series of revised accreditation requirements for citizen election observers that significantly hampered their ability to accredit observers across the country. Among the new regulations, citizen groups were required to provide evidence of at least three years of governance experience and each individual observer had to complete a certified application form in triplicate as well as submit certified copies of each observer’s national ID card.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) conducted national public opinion research to understand the main concerns of Solomon Islanders, including their awareness of public policies related to the COVID-19 pandemic and attitudes toward vaccines.

For nearly two years, Women’s Advisory Boards (WABs) in five Iraqi provinces have been assessing the unique needs of women and girls, implementing gender-sensitive community projects, and offering advice to local authorities in order to ensure that gendered perspectives are included in decision-making processes. Now, after months of researching how families in their communities are impacted by inequalities in their education systems, the WABs are developing recommendations to help increase access to education. 

Situated in the Balkans region of Europe, Kosovo’s two million citizens have not been spared the ravages of Covid-19, with thousands infected and hundreds succumbing to the disease. As elsewhere, the pandemic has upended the lives of women, who have lost their jobs in hard-hit retail and hospitality sectors where they predominate, stepped forward as essential medical workers to fight the contagion, and devoted themselves as primary caregivers to children and the elderly.