January 30, 2023
Uganda: Kampala, Kigali and Addis Ababa Are Changing Fast - New Book Follows Their Distinct Paths
Kampala, the Ugandan capital where I live, is naturally the city I have studied and worked on the most as an urban economist. Yet even with this background, reading Tom… Read more »
January 29, 2023
Africa: Children and Teens Aren't Doing Enough Physical Activity - New Study Sounds a Health Warning
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. It's also associated with chronic illness and disability. Recent research estimates that the world could see… Read more »
Africa: What Makes Archaeology Useful As Well As Exciting? It Offers Lessons From the Past
Archaeology is fun. It's so much fun that sometimes people do not treat it with the seriousness it deserves. Studying the past, through what people leave behind, can offer insights… Read more »
January 27, 2023
Somalia: Somaliland's Oil Find Could Reset the Regional Balance - Here's How
The presence of oil in Somaliland has been confirmed by a recent exploration. The discovery has raised the stakes in Somaliland's claim for independence from Somalia as it holds… Read more »
Nigeria: 100 Million Nigerians Are At Risk of Neglected Tropical Diseases - What the Country Is Doing About It
Neglected tropical diseases are a group of communicable diseases found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. They are classified as "neglected" because they have… Read more »
South Africa: Artificial Intelligence in South Africa Comes With Special Dilemmas - Plus the Usual Risks
When people think about artificial intelligence (AI), they may have visions of the future. But AI is already here. At its base, it is the recreation of aspects of human… Read more »
January 26, 2023
Africa: ChatGPT - Our Study Shows AI Can Produce Academic Papers Good Enough for Journals - Just As Some Ban It
Some of the world's biggest academic journal publishers have banned or curbed their authors from using the advanced chatbot, ChatGPT. Because the bot uses information from the… Read more »
Africa: It'll Take 150 Years to Map Africa's Biodiversity - And We Can't Protect What We Don't Know
The African continent is bursting with biodiversity. In a 2016 report, the United Nations Environment Programme wrote: Read more »
Africa: Eliminating Neglected Diseases in Africa - There Are Good Reasons for Hope
Togo had reason to celebrate in 2022 when it became the first country in the world to eliminate four neglected tropical diseases. The west African nation stamped out Guinea worm… Read more »
South Africa: Vaccine Hesitancy - Covid Experience Highlights Conspiracies, Mistrust and Role of Media
In recent weeks, China has reported a spike in new cases of COVID and related deaths. Some countries have imposed travel restrictions as a result. But most - including South Africa… Read more »
Southern Africa: Heat Stress Is Rising - Climate Experts Show Where and When It's Worst #AfricaClimateCrisis
Most of us have felt either too hot or too cold at some point in our lives. Depending on where we live, we may feel too cold quite often each winter, and too hot for a few days in… Read more »
Tanzania: Opposition Rallies Are Finally Unbanned - but This Doesn't Mean Democratic Reform Is Coming
In Tanzania, the political rally is back. Chadema, Tanzania's leading opposition party, held mass rallies outside the official election campaign for the first time in six and a… Read more »
Kenya: A Major New Exhibition in Nairobi Reveals the History of East African Art Traditions
Mwili, Akili na Roho (Body, Mind and Spirit) - on in Nairobi, Kenya - is a major international exhibition presenting east African painters who are key players in the modernist art… Read more »
Africa: Covid Booster Vaccines - How a Third Dose May Help Vulnerable People 'Level Up' Their Immunity
COVID vaccines call our immune systems to action, generating antibodies which fight against any contact we have with the virus. Antibodies help to reduce the effects of an… Read more »
January 25, 2023
Africa: Fossil Teeth Reveal How Brains Developed Over Millions of Years of Human Evolution - New Research
Fossilized bones help tell the story of what human beings and our predecessors were doing hundreds of thousands of years ago. But how can you learn about important parts of our… Read more »
Ghana: Domestic Debt Restructuring Has Stalled - Four Reasons Why
Ghana is facing multiple financial and economic challenges and has requested a US$3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it restore macroeconomic… Read more »
Africa: Large Mammals Shaped the Evolution of Humans - Here's Why It Happened in Africa
That humans originated in Africa is widely accepted. But it's not generally recognised how unique features of Africa's ecology were responsible for the crucial evolutionary… Read more »
Africa: Even Bivalent Updated Covid-19 Boosters Struggle to Prevent Omicron Subvariant Transmission - an Immunologist Discusses Why New Approaches Are Necessary
By almost any measure, the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been a global success. Read more »
Africa: Free Online Courses Could Be a Path to Higher Education in African Countries but Awareness Is Low
Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the largest regions in the world and has the lowest rates of participation in higher education anywhere in the world. The World Bank reported in 2020… Read more »
South Africa: Adriaan Vlok - the Case for Accepting the Late South African Politician's Apology for Apartheid
The recent death of Adriaan Vlok, the prominent South African apartheid-era law and order minister, brought the issue of political apologies for past wrongs back into the public… Read more »
January 24, 2023
Africa: We Tested the Wastewater From Planes to Detect Covid Among Travellers - Here's What We Found
Small traces of many pathogens, such as viruses we may be infected with, are excreted when we go to the toilet. Ultimately, these agents find their way to municipal wastewater… Read more »
Ghana: Ghana's Nkrumahist Parties Keep Splitting - a Threat to Their Strength in the 2024 Election
Political parties are not always completely united, as most classical political scientists argue. Dissenting opinions and the scramble for party apparatus tend to trigger internal… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: How DRC's Elite Use Sport to Build Their Reputations and Hold On to Power
Football in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - as in much of the world - is intertwined with politics. Read more »
Zimbabwe: Stella Chiweshe - Zimbabwe's Mbira Queen, Rebel Music Star and Pioneer
Stella Rambisai Chiweshe, affectionately known in Zimbabwe as "the queen of mbira" or "Ambuya (grandmother) Chiweshe", passed away on 20 January 2023. Read more »
South Africa: Non-Racial South Africa - Book Shows Debate On Nation Building Is Still Relevant Today
There has been much comment recently on the lack of representation of minorities in the leadership structures of South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress… Read more »