South Sudan’s healthcare system faces significant challenges, particularly in rural areas where access to clinical services is limited and costly. Many South Sudanese turn to traditional healers who use herbal medicines and spiritual methods due to a lack of…
RVI publishes books, research reports, research papers, briefings and meeting reports in a range of formats. Publications cover policy, research, arts, culture and local knowledge in the countries of eastern and central Africa. Research publications—books, reports and papers—are peer-reviewed. Some RVI publications are also available in French and/or Arabic.
The RVI is a signatory of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (2001); all publications are free for download in PDF format under Creative Commons licences. The views expressed in books and reports published by the RVI are those of the authors, not the Institute.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Cyclone Sagar is arguably the most devastating climate-related crisis to have hit Somaliland in contemporary history. Dominant literature to date lays the emphasis on recurring droughts in the region, since drought is the most prevalent natural hazard….
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This paper delves into the realm of climate change through an exploration of the Somali poetic drama of Hasan Ganey, focusing specifically on the Calamities are the Best Educators in the Globe drama, performed in 1982 by…
INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE PREDICTION AND ADAPTATION AMONG PASTORALISTS IN DHAGAXBUUR DISTRICT OF THE SOMALI REGION, ETHIOPIA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This paper explores how indigenous climate change prediction mechanisms help climate change adaptation among Somali pastoralists in Dhagaxbuur district…
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Putting good governance into effect in the nascent state of South Sudan has proven to be a nightmare, largely due to the presence of recalcitrant public institutions where public affairs and resources are unethically executed, undermining other…
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LOCAL PEACE STRUCTURES IN MANAGING INTER-CLAN CONFLICTS IN PUNTLAND STATE, SOMALIA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Clan conflicts in Somalia have a long history, dating back to the colonial era through to the period before the collapse of the…
The devastating war in Sudan between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has also had a profound impact on the country’s neighbours, particularly South Sudan. This is especially the case for areas that border Sudan,…
THE POLITICS OF RESOURCE EXTRACTION IN ETHIOPIA, POST-2018 SUMMARY • With the formation of the Prosperity Party (PP) in 2019, Abiy Ahmed’s government set out to redress the relationship between the central government and ‘peripheral’ regional states. This included…
INTRODUCTION Social science knowledge production in Ethiopia, as elsewhere in Africa, has Eurocentric roots. This is because Ethiopian Studies was born outside of Ethiopia, with the first generation of scholars consisting mainly of academics from Western countries or Ethiopians…
In Sudan, the revolutionary upsurge of 2018/2019 signalled the implosion of the country’s postcolonial political order. The political parties of old have seen their social bases wither away and their ideological hold over the Sudanese people corrode under the…
Recent Publications
Minor Demarcations, Micro-Dams—Major Drama? Ethno-territorial expansionism and precarious peace in the Oromia–Somali borderlands of eastern Ethiopia
May 20, 2025
The report highlights the overlapping claims to and distributive struggles over territory and resources in the Oromia-Somali borderlands which animated inter-regional competition between the Oromia Regional State (ORS) and Somali Regional State (SRS), resulted in the brief 2023 uptick in
When Women Sing: How Murle women use arts and cultural mediums to communicate
May 16, 2025
This research explores how Murle women in the Greater Pibor area of central eastern South Sudan use not just songs but dance, hairstyles, body marks and beads to express themselves. Its objective is to draw attention to the ways Murle
Effectiveness of Women in Politics and Improving Gender Equality in South Sudan
May 2, 2025
This report argues that, in order to improve women’s participation in politics and promote gender-responsive policies in the country, there is a need to enlarge government capacity for women’s leadership by introducing equal gender quotas for decision-making positions. Summary Women’s