Monica’s Recent Stories
World Jul 28
Congo Basin’s endangered wildlife find unlikely guardians in indigenous huntersThe Congo Basin is home to the world’s second-largest rainforest and a unique array of biodiversity. But the ecosystem's remote location cannot protect it from the threat of poaching. Special correspondent Monica Villamizar and videographer Phil Caller traveled to the…
World Jul 24
Widespread logging threatens the Congo Basin’s critical rainforestThe Democratic Republic of Congo is a massive country, with a land area the size of Alaska and Texas combined. It’s also home to a large part of the Congo Basin rainforest, a habitat for countless species and a crucial…
World Jul 15
Ebola finally defeated, Congo faces COVID-19In June, the World Health Organization announced the good news that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was over. But now, the country is grappling with a new health challenge: COVID-19. Special correspondent Monica Villamizar reports in…
Health Jan 16
Despite outbreak, Ebola treatment and vaccine represent ‘resounding scientific success’Recently, the FDA formally approved the first vaccine to prevent the Ebola virus. The advance comes at a crucial time, as Democratic Republic of Congo is suffering an outbreak that has lasted over a year and a half and sickened…
World Jan 15
How war and misinformation are complicating the DRC’s Ebola battleAn outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has plagued Democratic Republic of Congo for nearly a year and a half, with more than 3,000 people getting sick and 2,000 dead. Major medical advances in prevention and treatment have kept the…
World Jun 27
Preserving the priceless manuscripts of TimbuktuA world of knowledge was nearly lost forever amid the al-Qaida occupation in Timbuktu five years ago. Many were burnt, but thousands of ancient manuscripts were smuggled away and saved, and now are being digitized. And yet time and money…
World Apr 16
For Mali’s Tuareg, music speaks of suffering and the SaharaThe music of Mali's Tuareg people is music of resistance. Master traders of the Sahara desert for millenia, they've never enjoyed significant political power, and their musical culture reflects that frustration and struggle. But times have been tough for these…
Science Feb 20
Morocco turns the Sahara desert into a solar energy oasisMorocco says it wants to be the Saudi Arabia of solar energy. Its flagship project is a first-of-its-kind, $9-billion energy plant called Noor, meaning "light" in Arabic, and the size of the city of Paris. Special correspondent Monica Villamizar reports…
Education Feb 06
Puerto Rico’s education system hangs in the balance amid Hurricane Maria exodusMore than 50,000 students are expected to leave Puerto Rico for the mainland to continue their education. With hundreds of schools expected to close, the mass exodus has major consequences for the education system, and some see the storm as…
World Jan 25
Here’s why restoring power in Puerto Rico is taking so longFour months after Hurricane Maria, about 450,000 of 1.5 million electricity customers in Puerto Rico still have no service. Blackouts regularly occur for hours at a time, even in San Juan. Special correspondent Monica Villamizar reports on the emergency efforts…
