January 26
Africa: Malaria Researchers Are Getting Closer to Outsmarting the World's Deadliest Parasite
Every year, malaria kills more than 600,000 people worldwide. Most of them are children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. But the disease isn't confined to poor, rural areas - it's a… Read more »
January 25
Africa: Africa's Critical Minerals Are a Huge Economic Opportunity - G20 Framework Sets Out Ways to Seize It
As the world shifts to clean energy, minerals such as lithium, cobalt and manganese have become as important as oil once was. Africa holds large reserves of these critical… Read more »
Africa: Global Demand for Shea Butter Is Growing - but It's Not All Good News for the Women Who Collect the Nuts
Shea butter has become a highly sought-after ingredient in cosmetics and food manufacturing worldwide. Since the early 2000s its use as a substitute for cocoa butter has driven a… Read more »
January 22
Africa: The Pandemic's Hidden Toll - Millions of Chronic Conditions Left Undiagnosed
When COVID hit, healthcare systems around the world were turned upside down. Hospitals cleared beds, routine appointments were cancelled and people were told to stay at home unless… Read more »
January 20
Africa: The World Is in Water Bankruptcy, UN Scientists Report - Here's What That Means
The world is now using so much fresh water amid the consequences of climate change that it has entered an era of water bankruptcy, with many regions no longer able to bounce back… Read more »
Africa: How the U.S. Withdrawal From WHO Could Affect Global Health Powers and Disease Threats
Hours after Donald Trump began his second term as United States president on Jan. 20, 2024, he signed an executive order to end American membership in the World Health Organization… Read more »
January 15
Africa: Global Power Struggles Over the Ocean's Finite Resources Call for Creative Diplomacy
Oceans shape everyday life in powerful ways. They cover 70% of the planet, carry 90% of global trade, and support millions of jobs and the diets of billions of people. As global… Read more »
January 18
Africa: AI Can Make the Dead Talk - Why This Doesn't Comfort Us
For as long as humans have buried their dead, they've dreamed of keeping them close. The ancient Fayum portraits - those stunningly lifelike images wrapped in Egyptian mummies -… Read more »
Africa: Ransomware - What It Is and Why It's Your Problem
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that makes a victim's data, system or device inaccessible. It locks the target or encrypts it (converting text into an unreadable form)… Read more »
January 12
Africa: The Solar Boom Has a Dirty Secret. Here's How to Avoid Another Mountain of Waste That Can't Be Recycled
Solar power has a dark side: panels are still built to be thrown away, and we risk creating a mountain of waste that locks away valuable minerals. Read more »
January 18
Africa: Africa's Human Rights Institutions Are Electing Leaders. Why This Matters
Member states of the African Union (AU) will hold their most consequential election of the year in February 2026, to fill ten vacancies in continental human rights institutions. Read more »
January 14
East Africa: Another War in the Horn of Africa Would Be Disastrous for One of the World's Most Repressed Nations
The geopolitical temperature is rising in the Red Sea. Read more »
Africa: Early Humans Relied On Simple Stone Tools for 300,000 Years in a Changing East African Landscape
Our prehistoric human ancestors relied on deliberately modified and sharpened stone tools as early as 3.3 million years ago. The selection of rock type depended on how easily the… Read more »
January 13
Africa: Viruses Aren't All Bad / In the Ocean, Some Help Fuel the Food Web - A New Study Shows How
Virus. The word evokes images of illness and fears of outbreaks. Yet, in the oceans, not all viruses are bad news. Read more »
January 12
Africa: Stablecoins Are Gaining Ground As Digital Currency in Africa - How to Avoid Risks
A notification popped up on my LinkedIn the other day. Africans were doing a traditional celebratory dance at the Africa Stablecoin summit in Johannesburg. Read more »
January 11
Africa: Africa's Climate Finance Rules Are Growing, but They're Weakly Enforced - New Research
Climate change is no longer just about melting ice or hotter summers. It is also a financial problem. Droughts, floods, storms and heatwaves damage crops, factories and… Read more »
Africa: The G20 Was Built to Stabilise the World's Economy - but It's Failed On Climate, Debt and Inequality
The Group of Twenty (G20) emerged from the financial turmoil that followed the collapse of the Thai currency in 1997, which rapidly spread financial instability from Thailand to… Read more »
Africa: Nigeria and South Africa Risk Breaking Climate Change Pledges
Just 20 countries produce 80% of the world's oil, gas and coal. Since 2019, researchers have released regular reports analysing how these governments plan to continue drilling and… Read more »
January 08
Africa: Climate Adaptation Has a New Global Plan
At the 2025 global climate summit, COP30, held in Belém, Brazil, one decision stood out with major consequences for Africa: countries agreed on a new set of progress… Read more »
January 07
Africa: Risks Young Chimps Take As They Swing Through the Trees Underscore Role of Protective Parenting in Humans
Adolescents are known for risky behavior, with teenagers in the U.S. more likely than younger children to die from injury. But what's responsible for this uptick in risk-taking… Read more »
Africa: Viral Outbreaks Are Always On the Horizon
A new year might mean new viral threats. Read more »
Africa: Measures of Academic Value Overlook African Scholars Who Make a Local Impact - Study
Academics today, around the world, are confined by the way their research output is measured. Indicators that count the number of times their work is cited by other academics, and… Read more »
January 04
Africa: Hotter Weather Thickens the Blood of Wild Mammals
Large wild mammals - from elephants to antelopes - are already struggling to cope with global warming. Now new research shows that even the small creatures adapted to harsh, arid… Read more »
Africa: HIV Funding Still Falls Short of Targets After Pledges - What's At Stake
The US government paused all foreign assistance in January 2025. This abrupt decision affected the delivery of life-saving HIV medicines and the provision of HIV prevention… Read more »
January 01
Africa: Ancient African Bedrock Reveals the Violent Beginnings of Life On Our Blue Planet
You have probably seen the images of the surface of Mars, beamed back by NASA's rovers. What if there were a time machine capable of roaming Earth during its remote geological… Read more »
