Africa Eye investigates the disappearance of a sex worker and uncovers abuse, trafficking and murder

The family she didn’t know. When Marcia was four she left Angola with her mother, losing touch with her father. 16 years later, she received a Facebook message from someone claiming to be her uncle. In the quest to reconnect with her long lost family, Marcia discovers why understanding her past is crucial for her future. Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think. #thecomb Get in touch: thecomb@bbc.com

Women in parts of Nigeria are being left out of their parents' inheritance, despite a law banning discrimination.

‘It’s a survival issue for us’. The creeping threat of climate change is catching up with all of us, and more lives than ever are being transformed by the reality of climate change in Africa. Nirere in Uganda and Adenike in Nigeria can’t ignore what they’ve witnessed. They are fighting for their future. Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think. #TheComb Get in touch: thecomb@bbc.com

Produced by Mary Goodhart

A ‘dark secret’ shared by many. Every year, dozens of Kenyan women die from unsafe abortions. Why is it still so difficult to talk about? In Kenya, one woman is trying to challenge the taboo by talking about her abortion. This episode includes frank discussions about abortion, including women candidly discussing their experiences. Thanks for listening. Let us know what you think. #thecomb Get in touch: thecomb@bbc.com

Captain Joyce Beckwith married into a ballooning family and has since become Kenya's first female pilot.

Umm Kulthum’s powerful voice and talent for communicating poetry was spotted early, when she accompanied her family to perform at weddings and special occasions. It wasn’t long before she was performing in the elite salons of early 20th-century Cairo, although her father dressed her as a boy to protect her from any unwelcome interactions with strangers.

In the Egyptian capital she quickly associated herself with the most talented musicians of the day, and from then on she never looked back. She explored the major Arabic song forms of the period, collaborating with composers and poets. She dabbled in film, negotiated record deals, and when public service broadcasting began in the 1930s, she secured herself a monthly slot on national radio. In awe of her talent and mesmerising presence, the Arab world practically came to a standstill whenever she was heard on the airwaves.

Joining Bridget Kendall to explore Umm Kulthum’s life are Virginia Danielson, author of The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song and Egyptian Society in the 20th Century; Salwa el-Shawan Castelo-Branco, professor of ethnomusicology at the New University of Lisbon and president of the International Council for Traditional Music; and Yara Salahiddeen, whose current research at the University of Oxford focuses on music-making in 19th and early 20th century urban Egyptian society.

[Image: Umm Kulthum performs on Nov 16 1967 at the Olympia concert hall, Paris. Credit: STRINGER, AFP via Getty Images]

This is the story of Chido Govera aka The Mushroom Woman. It is a story about her home, Zimbabwe. And it is also a story about mushrooms. It never should have happened. Chido, an orphan, became the provider in her family aged seven. At 10 she was destined to marry a man 30 years older than her. But a chance encounter led her to discover the almost magical science of mushroom cultivation at a local university, and set her life on a very different course.

Murder in the mountains. A feud, a former first lady dead and another on the run. How the mysterious killing of Lipolelo Thabane, Lesotho’s former first lady, transformed the country’s political landscape. #TheComb Get in touch: thecomb@bbc.com

Produced by Kim Chakanetsa

‘You probably have to lie that you are married and your husband had to be out of town’. Being a young, single woman can be a heavy burden when trying to find somewhere to live in Nigeria. Why do landlords keep saying ’no’? #TheComb Get in touch: thecomb@bbc.com

Produced by Kim Chakanetsa

Killing for sand: a village shaken by one of the biggest and least-reported resource battles of our time. From buildings and roads, to glass and paper, sand is a crucial ingredient in modern civilisation. But we’re running out and a black market is thriving. In The Gambia, the demand for sand has already proven deadly. #TheComb Get in touch: thecomb@bbc.com

Produced by Mary Goodhart

Easy lending, easy debt? It takes less than five minutes to get a small digital loan, and advocates say that lending apps are providing financial inclusion for the ‘unbanked’. But some young Kenyans are getting caught out by the high interest rates and small print.

After six weeks of protests, Abdelaziz Bouteflika quit the presidency this week.

Neil MacGregor visits different countries to talk to leading political, business and cultural figures to find out how they, as individuals and as members of their broader communities, see Britain. Neil visits Nigeria to meet Nobel Laureate for Literature, Wole Soyinka; Yeni Kuti, dancer, singer and eldest child of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti; and Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano.

Neil MacGregor visits different countries to talk to leading political, business and cultural figures to find out how they, as individuals and as members of their broader communities, see Britain. In Egypt, Neil hears from political historian Said Sadek; magazine publisher and editor Yasmine Shihata; and writer and activist Ahdaf Soueif.

Byson expected to be dead long ago. Now in his sixties, he was given a death sentence quarter of a century ago. But instead of being executed, he’s found himself back at home, looking after his elderly mother, holding down a job, and volunteering to help other prisoners leaving jail.

His release was part of a re-sentencing project in Malawi. Anyone who was given the death penalty automatically for killing someone can have their case re-examined. What is known as a mandatory death sentence was ruled to be unconstitutional, so now judges are giving custodial sentences instead, or in some cases inmates are even being freed.

Charlotte McDonald travels to the small town of Balaka to visit the Halfway House where Byson mentors former inmates. She visits someone who came out of jail a few years ago and now runs her own business in the village where she was born. And she speaks to one of the last remaining people on death row about their upcoming re-sentencing hearing.

Many of those former death row inmates are now back in their communities living and working – but that doesn’t necessarily mean that ordinary Malawians are ready for the death penalty to be abolished.

(Image: Former inmate Byson sits with his mother, Lucy, outside her house. Credit: BBC)

George Weah, former World Footballer of the Year and star of AC Milan, Chelsea and Monaco, was elected president of Liberia in a landslide victory just over a year ago. Having been raised in one of Liberia’s worst slums, many saw him as a man who understood the needs of the poor. But some now doubt that he will deliver on campaign promises to help lift people out of poverty. Mike Thomson, who was granted a rare interview with the President, reports from Monrovia.

Uganda is a country that has seen massive growth in the number of ‘orphanages’ providing homes to children, despite the number of orphans there decreasing.

It is believed 80% of children now living in orphanages have at least one living parent. The majority of the hundreds of orphanages operating in Uganda are illegal, unregistered and now are in a fight with the government trying to shut them down.

Dozens on the government's list for closure are funded by overseas charities and church groups, many of which are based in the UK.

With widespread concerns about abuse, trafficking and exploitation of children growing up in orphanages are funders doing enough to make sure their donations aren't doing more harm than good?

Reporter: Anna Cavell Producer: Kate West

(Image: Ugandan children stand on the banks of the Kagera River. Credit: ISAAC KASAMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

The Central African Republic is one of the least developed countries on earth. Years of conflict have left hundreds of thousands of people displaced. Sexual violence is rife and extreme poverty is endemic. Yet despite this dire humanitarian situation, reporting from CAR is rare. Anna Foster explores the challenges facing this nation from the inside, and hears from those trying to improve its fortunes.