March 30, 2023
Nigeria: Catfish in Nigeria - We Set About Finding Ways of Making It More Appealing
African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) farming has become a popular agricultural business sector in Nigeria. This is because the species can adapt to a wide range of temperatures and… Read more »
South Africa: Amapiano Awards - South Africa's Dance Music Scene Spreads Its Joy Across the World
In 2019 amapiano began to dominate South Africa's dance floors to such an extent that, by 2021, the first South African Amapiano Awards were held to mark the rise of the country's… Read more »
Rwanda: Paul Rusesabagina's Release and Apology - a Master Stroke By Kagame
Rwanda's ministry of justice recently announced the pardon and release of Paul Rusesabagina from jail. Rusesabagina was involved in events portrayed in the 2004 Hollywood film… Read more »
March 29, 2023
East Africa: Ancient DNA Is Restoring the Origin Story of the Swahili People of the East African Coast
The legacy of the medieval Swahili civilization is a source of extraordinary pride in East Africa, as reflected in its language being the official tongue of Kenya, Tanzania and… Read more »
Ghana: Does Democracy Fuel Corruption? Most Ghanaians Don't Think So
Does democracy breed corruption - particularly in developing countries? Read more »
Ethiopia: The Astonishing Life and Music of Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, the Ethiopian Nun Who's Died At 99
As the Ethiopian pianist Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou approached the age of 100, fans and music critics from the US to Ethiopia, Israel to Europe have been eagerly… Read more »
Africa: The World Is Hooked On Junk Food - How Big Companies Pull It Off
It is almost impossible nowadays to listen to the radio, watch TV or scroll through social media without being exposed to an advertisement telling us that all we need for a little… Read more »
Africa: Industries Can Harm Health in Many Ways - Here Are 3 That Aren't So Obvious
A recent ground-breaking series of reports in the science journal The Lancet unpacks what commercial determinants of health are, and how they affect public health. It uses a new,… Read more »
Africa: Long Covid Puts Some People At Higher Risk of Heart Disease - They Need Better Long-Term Monitoring
Lasting damage to the heart and brain is an aspect of long COVID that should receive much more attention than it has so far. We have sufficient evidence now to call for ongoing… Read more »
March 28, 2023
Uganda: Uganda's New Anti- LGBTQ+ Law Could Lead to Death Penalty for Same-Sex 'Offences'
People in same-sex relationships in Uganda now face the possibility of life in prison after the country's parliament unanimously passed its 2023 anti-homosexuality bill. The… Read more »
Africa: Young People in Africa Should Have a Say in Decisions That Affect Their Health
Most of Africa's population - 70% - is under 30 years old. In 2017 there were 628 million young people under 25 on the continent. This figure is predicted to reach 945 million by… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's New Deputy President Paul Mashatile Tasked with Restoring Stability
In a recent cabinet reshuffle President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Paul Mashatile, the deputy president of South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), as… Read more »
South Africa: ICC Arrest Warrant for Vladimir Putin - a King-Size Dilemma for South Africa
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an international arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes regarding the unlawful deportation of… Read more »
South Africa: The South African Council On Sport At 50 - the Fight for Sports Development Is Still Relevant Today
It's 50 years since the official formation of the South African Council on Sport (Sacos). Sacos was the sport wing of the anti-apartheid liberation movement. It was established in… Read more »
March 27, 2023
Africa: Profit Versus Health - 4 Ways Big Global Industries Make People Sick
It's now more commonly known that alcohol and tobacco use make us ill. Less known is that just four industries account for at least one-third of global preventable deaths. These… Read more »
Ghana: Ghana's e-Levy Is Unfair to the Poor and Misses Its Revenue Target - a Lesson in Mobile Money Tax Design
In May 2022, the government in Ghana introduced a deeply unpopular tax on mobile money transactions, known as the e-levy. When it was introduced, the levy was structured as a 1.5%… Read more »
Togo: Leprosy, Scabies and Yaws - Togo's Neglected Tropical Skin Diseases Need Attention
Neglected tropical diseases are a group of 20 diseases found mostly in tropical regions that are strongly associated with poverty. Among them are skin diseases like scabies,… Read more »
Africa: Bird Flu FAQ
Avian influenza ("bird flu") is a highly contagious viral infection that affects wild and domestic birds worldwide. It has recently gained notoriety for its devastating impact on… Read more »
March 24, 2023
Nigeria: Water Scarcity On Nigeria's Coast Is Hardest On Women - Six Steps to Ease the Burden
Imagine waking up before dawn every day to fetch water for your family. You trek to the nearest water source, miles away, with only a jerrycan to carry the precious liquid. You… Read more »
Africa: Covid Testing Led to New Techniques of Disease Diagnosis - Progress Mustn't Stop Now
In March 2020, weeks before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, its director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivered a speech in which he… Read more »
South Africa: Cannabis Industry Plans for South Africa Have Stalled - How to Get Them Moving Again
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently reiterated plans to accelerate the commercialisation of hemp as well as cannabis plants. His speech setting out government's… Read more »
Africa: Why Elite Athletes Should Develop Mindfulness to Up Their Game
Athletes at the very highest level of their sport face the challenge of performing consistently under pressure amid many potential distractions, including performance anxiety,… Read more »
March 23, 2023
Africa: TB Kills 75,000 Children in Africa Every Year - How This Can Stop #WorldTBDay
Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and curable disease. Half of the world's 30 highest TB burden countries are in Africa. In many of these countries, TB is the leading cause of… Read more »
Africa: TB in Children Isn't Being Controlled - It's Key to Fighting the Disease for Everyone Else
World TB Day on March 24th will commemorate the day in 1882 when Professor Robert Koch announced in Berlin that he had discovered the microbial cause of tuberculosis (TB),… Read more »
Ghana: Women Occupy Very Few Academic Jobs in Ghana. Culture and Society's Expectations Are to Blame
In many parts of the world, men dominate the higher education sector. A 2022 UNESCO report found that, globally, fewer than two out of five senior academics are women. In an… Read more »