February 24
South Africa: Pregnant Women in South Africa Should Be Offered Social Grants - It'll Save the State Money in the Long Run
A baby's first 1,000 days, from the time of conception until their second birthday, is a crucial window of opportunity to optimise their potential - through healthy nutrition for… Read more »
February 22
South Africa: Kalahari Weaver Birds Lay Bigger Eggs When They Have Female Helpers to Feed Nestlings
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a protected nature reserve at the southern edge of the Kalahari desert in South Africa's Northern Cape province. It's an arid area with high daytime… Read more »
South Africa: Protecting Your Image Online Is the Key to Fighting Them
Leanne Manas is a familiar face on South African televisions. Towards the end of 2023 the morning news presenter's face showed up somewhere else: in bogus news stories and fake… Read more »
February 20
Africa: Women in South Africa's Armed Struggle - New Book Records History At First Hand
South Africa's young democracy was a culmination of years of sweat, blood and revolution against the apartheid regime. In the early 1960s, after decades of "non-violence" as a… Read more »
February 18
South Africa: HIV Among Older South Africans in Rural Areas - Big Study Shows There's a Problem That's Being Neglected
South Africa continues to have a high prevalence of HIV among all age groups. About 8.2 million people or 13.7% of the population live with HIV, one of the highest rates in the… Read more »
South Africa: Corruption and Clean Energy in South Africa - Economic Model Shows Trust in Government Is Linked to Takeup of Renewables
South Africa relies heavily on energy from coal-fired power stations, which emit large quantities of carbon. But making the transition to greater use of renewable energies, such as… Read more »
February 15
Southern Africa: Rhinos Can't Sweat, Making Them Vulnerable to Overheating - Global Warming Could Wipe Them Out in Southern Africa
Southern Africa is home to 22,137 of the world's 23,432 white and black African rhinos. But they're facing grave threats because of a warming planet. Now, the first study of how… Read more »
February 13
South Africa: 17 Million South Africans Live On Communal Land - New Study of a Rural Valley Offers Insights On How to Manage It
The Tyhume River, flowing from the forested Amathole Mountains in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, gives its name to a valley of 20 villages on communal land. Much of the land… Read more »
February 11
South Africa: Medicinal Plants Help Keep Children Healthy in South Africa - 61 Species Were Recorded
In 2021, almost 33 of every 1,000 South African children under five years old died. Read more »
February 09
South Africa: Ramaphosa Aims for Upbeat Tone in Annual Address, but Fails to Impress a Jaundiced Electorate
This year's State of the Nation Address - delivered annually in February by South Africa's president - was bound to be stuffed with electioneering messages and slogans. The country… Read more »
February 06
Africa: Money Helps People Live Longer - Study
Nearly half of South Africa's 60 million people receive social grants, ranging from child support to pensions. The grants are designed to provide financial assistance to people… Read more »
South Africa: Zuleikha Mayat - South African Activist Who Led a Life of Courage
Few Indian South African women have achieved wider public recognition than author, human rights and cultural activist Zuleikha Mayat, who passed away on 2 February 2024. An… Read more »
February 05
South Africa: Thirty Years of Rural Health Research - South Africa's Agincourt Studies Offer Unique Insights
In 1992 a group of academics from the University of the Witwatersrand introduced a health and socio-demographic surveillance system in remote, rural South Africa to track and… Read more »
South Africa: Surveillance and the State - South Africa's Proposed New Spying Law Is Open for Comment - an Expert Points Out Its Flaws
In early 2021, the South African Constitutional Court found that the country's State Security Agency, through its signals intelligence agency, the National Communication Centre,… Read more »
February 04
Africa: South Africa's Military Is Expected to Do More Than Ever With Tighter Budgets - How the Force Has Declined Over 30 Years
The South African National Defence Force marks 30 years this year, having been established on 27 April 1994. It's as old as the country's constitutional democracy, the result of a… Read more »
February 02
South Africa: South Africa Needs to Manage Migrants Better. That Requires Cleaning Up the Department of Home Affairs
Legal grievances against the South African Department of Home Affairs, including contempt of court cases, are depressingly common. Too frequently the minister has to apologise to a… 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
South Africa: Wetlands Are Superheroes - Expert Sets Out How They Protect People and Places
In the past, wetlands were often seen as undesirable landscapes - waterlogged areas that were difficult to navigate, impossible to build on or farm, and a source of pests such as… Read more »
South Africa: South African Marriage Ruling Is a Win for Divorcees and Surviving Spouses
South Africa's Constitutional Court has fundamentally changed the country's marriage law, making it fairer to people who are married "out of community of property" when their… Read more »
January 30
South Africa: Nelson Mandela's Personal Items Under the Hammer in New York? Why It Outraged Some, and What's At Stake
An identity document, a pair of reading glasses, a hearing aid and a pair of worn shoes. These are just some of Nelson Mandela's personal items that were due to go on auction on 22… 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 27
South Africa: Matric Results - South Africa's Record School Pass Rates Aren't What They Seem - What's Really Happening in the Education System
South Africa's matric (grade 12) class of 2023, which wrote final school-leaving exams late last year, has been hailed by the country's minister of basic education for achieving… Read more »
South Africa: Jacob Zuma, the Monster South Africa's Ruling ANC Created, Continues to Haunt It
Former South African president Jacob Zuma is endorsing the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party, the latest rival to the governing African National Congress (ANC) for the upcoming national… Read more »
January 26
South Africa: The Two Faces of Jacob Zuma - Former South African President Campaigns to Unseat the ANC He Once Led. Who Supports Him and Why?
Former South African president Jacob Zuma's political comeback builds on support from marginalised and angry constituencies within or close to the governing African National… Read more »
January 23
South Africa: Three South African Universities Have New Approaches to Assessing Students
South African higher education faces many complex challenges rooted in the legacy of apartheid. They include the fact that many students are unprepared for or excluded from higher… Read more »