January 29
Africa: That Sharp, Green Smell of Freshly Cut Grass? It's a Plant's Cry for Help - and It May Work As a Less Toxic Pesticide for Farmers
Have you ever wondered about that sharp, green note that hits your nose when you mow the lawn or cut flower stems? Those are green leaf volatiles, or GLVs: easily evaporated oils… Read more »
February 01
South Africa: South Africans Are Opting to Go Off-Grid - How They're Being Helped, and Hindered, in Their Efforts
Eskom, South Africa's state-owned power utility, struggles to generate and supply a stable flow of electricity to meet demand. In 2023, there were times when households and… Read more »
January 31
Africa: African Countries Are Struggling With High Debt, Demands to Spend More and Collapsing Currencies
Highly indebted African countries are facing stark trade-offs between servicing expensive debt, supporting high and growing development needs, and stabilising domestic currencies. Read more »
January 30
Congo-Kinshasa: 'We Miners Die a Lot.' Appalling Conditions and Poverty Wages - the Lives of Cobalt Miners in the DRC
It was a cool, dusty morning in July 2021, when I first visited the Kamilombe cobalt mine in Lualaba Province in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Situated just outside… Read more »
January 23
Africa: The Top Risks From Technology That We'll Be Facing By the Year 2040
Bewilderingly rapid changes are happening in the technology and reach of computer systems. There are exciting advances in artificial intelligence, in the masses of tiny… Read more »
January 29
South Africa: South Africa Is Failing People Who Aren't Poor, but Aren't Middle Class Either
Many South African households are trapped. They are neither poor nor middle class. As a demographic they hover above the indigence threshold financially. But they are not yet… Read more »
January 18
Africa: Ai Weiwei Says Art That Can Be Replicated By AI Is 'Meaningless' - Philosopher Explains What That Means for the Future of Art
Ai Weiwei, China's most famous dissident and artist, has called art that can be easily replicated by artificial intelligence (AI) "meaningless". What I find most striking about… Read more »
Africa: Excessive Social Media Use During the Covid-19 Pandemic Exacerbated Adolescent Mental Health Challenges
How does time spent online, and especially social media, affect the brains and behaviours of children and youth? Read more »
Africa: Students Do Better and Schools Are More Stable When Teachers Get Mental Health Support
When it comes to mental health at school, typically the focus is on helping students, especially as they emerge from the pandemic with heightened levels of anxiety, stress and… Read more »
January 22
Ghana: Ghana Wants to Make Importing Food Like Rice and Tomatoes More Costly
Ghana, like many other developing nations, relies heavily on imports of food and consumer goods to feed its population. For instance, Ghana imports 55% of the rice that is consumed… Read more »
January 21
South Africa: South Africa's Ageing Population Comes With New Challenges. How Best to Adapt to Them
Young people - under the age of 15 - currently make up 29% of South Africa's population. But this will soon change: the aged portion of the population is forecast to rise from… Read more »
January 19
South Africa: Why Are Floods in South Africa's Kwazulu-Natal So Devastating? Urban Planning Expert Explains
The devastation caused by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa demonstrates again that the country is not moving fast enough to adopt appropriate urban planning. It… Read more »
South Africa: Jobs in South Africa - the Labour Market Is Recovering From Covid - but Unskilled and Less Educated People Are Still Being Left Behind
For more than three decades the South African economy has had very high rates of joblessness. The country's economy has been unable to create enough jobs for its growing army of… Read more »
January 15
South Africa: Healthy Food Is Hard to Come By in Cape Town's Poorer Areas - How Community Gardens Can Fix That
In 1950, as part of the Group Areas Act, South Africa's apartheid government banished people of colour to outlying areas, away from central business districts. The Cape Flats are… Read more »
January 14
Africa: 60% of Continent's Food Based on Treasure Trove of Wheat, Rice and Maize, Neglected
African countries have become reliant on a few food items. Just 20 plant species now provide 90% of our food, with three - wheat, maize and rice - accounting for 60% of all… Read more »
January 09
Southern Africa: Studying Engineering Is Tough - 6 Insights to Help University Students Succeed
Engineering courses are a popular choice among South African university students. But these courses are also gruelling and the attrition rates are high. The Council on Higher… Read more »
Africa: Wanting to 'Move On' Is Natural - but Women's Pandemic Experiences Can't Be Lost to 'Lockdown Amnesia'
The COVID-19 pandemic was - and continues to be - hugely disruptive and stressful for individuals, communities and countries. Yet many seem desperate to close the chapter entirely,… Read more »
Ghana: Ghana's Electricity Crisis Is Holding the Country Back - How It Got Here
For well over a decade Ghana was exalted as one of the most promising and fastest growing economies on the continent. Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's New Plan to End Power Cuts Is Seriously Flawed. Here's Why
South Africa experienced unprecedented electricity shortages in 2023 as ageing coal plants became increasingly prone to breakdowns. The country urgently needs to develop new… Read more »
January 08
West Africa: Scramble for the Sahel - Why France, Russia, China and the United States Are Interested in the Region
The Sahel, a region 3,860km wide located south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent, has been a focus of attention around the world recently. Read more »
January 07
Senegal: Senegal's Small Scale Gold Miners Still Use Poisonous Mercury - How to Reduce the Harm
"Do not fish in these waters." "Contains high levels of mercury." Read more »
South Africa: Taxes On e-Cigarettes - South Africa Must Strike a Balance Between Economic Arguments and Health Concerns
The 21st century has seen a massive expansion in the ways that people can consume tobacco and nicotine. Innovative new products include electronic nicotine delivery systems ("ENDS"… Read more »
January 02
Africa: Coca-Cola in Africa - A Story of High Politics and Marketing Gumption
A new book called Bottled: How Coca-Cola Became African tells the story of how the world's most famous carbonated drink conquered the continent. It's a tale of marketing gumption… Read more »
December 21, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Plantain Wine - a Traditional Drink With Huge Economic Potential
Agadagidi, a wine made from plantain, is a popular drink at festive occasions in Nigeria. But it's not always of a high quality. Read more »
December 19, 2023
Africa: How Govt Payments to the Vulnerable Can Multiply to Create Economic Growth for Everyone
The economic fallout of COVID-19 left people around the world facing a significant threat to their livelihood. As governments scrambled to mitigate the pandemic's impact on their… Read more »