April 30, 2023
South Africa: Health Workers Cope With a Huge Amount of Stress - How to Build a Resilient Health System in South Africa
Popular and academic literature is replete with examples of how to cope with daily stresses. Mental health professions have also long researched and implemented strategies to deal… Read more »
April 26, 2023
Sudan: Sudan's Conflict Has Its Roots in Three Decades of Elites Fighting Over Oil and Energy
Sudan stands on the brink of yet another civil war sparked by the deadly confrontation between the Sudan Armed Forces of General Abdelfatah El-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces… Read more »
April 24, 2023
Africa: The Dirty Truth About Your Phone - And Why You Need to Stop Scrolling in the Bathroom
We carry them everywhere, take them to bed, to the bathroom and for many people they're the first thing they see in the morning - more than 90% of the world owns or uses a mobile… Read more »
April 19, 2023
Africa: Generative AI - 5 Essential Reads About the New Era of Creativity, Job Anxiety, Misinformation, Bias and Plagiarism
The light and dark sides of AI have been in the public spotlight for many years. Think facial recognition, algorithms making loan and sentencing recommendations, and medical image… Read more »
April 18, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's Power Outages Could Reach Critical Levels This Winter - Likely Scenarios
Over the past 15 years South Africa has been experiencing a gradually worsening number of electricity cuts. This state of affairs has prompted frustration among citizens, negative… Read more »
April 17, 2023
Africa: Debt Dangers in Africa - How Defaults Hurt People, and Why Forgiveness Isn't the Answer
Public debt repayments in some African countries are at their highest levels since 1998. The Conversation Africa's founding editor Caroline Southey talks to dean and economics… Read more »
April 16, 2023
Ghana: Ghana's Fishing Industry Has a 'Golden Seaweed' Problem - How Citizen Science Can Help
Sargassum is a genus of brown seaweed. Over 300 species are distributed across the world in both temperate and tropical climates. The species fluitans and natans are unique because… Read more »
April 12, 2023
Ethiopia: Community Health Workers in Ethiopia Set Out to Promote Health
Ethiopia has made significant progress in supporting gender equality and girls' empowerment. Rates of child marriage and teenage pregnancy have decreased substantially. Access to… Read more »
April 10, 2023
Africa: Energy Sector Will Need to Transform Radically - These Are the Five Biggest Challenges
The future of Africa's energy sector is getting increasing attention from policymakers and the private sector. As demand for energy rises, current energy systems must grow rapidly… Read more »
April 05, 2023
South Africa: Astronomers Used Machine Learning to Mine Data From South Africa's Meerkat Telescope - What They Found
New telescopes with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution are being unveiled around the world - and beyond. Among them are the Giant Magellan Telescope under construction in… Read more »
Africa: Several African Countries Have a Shortage of U.S. Dollars - Why This Happens and How to Fix It
A number of African countries, including Kenya, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana and Zambia, are currently experiencing shortages of US dollars. The dollar is the dominant currency… Read more »
April 04, 2023
South Africa: Green Energy - South Africa's Transition Must Avoid Deepening Inequality
Since the UN Climate Change Agreement was signed by 196 nations in December 2015, many countries have announced policies to reduce their fossil fuel emissions. Read more »
April 02, 2023
South Africa: One in Five Households Begs for Food - The Link Between Food Insecurity and Mental Health
At least ten million South Africans didn't have enough food or money to buy food in 2019, according to the country's statistics agency. This food insecurity remains a leading… Read more »
March 29, 2023
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 »
March 27, 2023
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 »
March 24, 2023
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 »
March 20, 2023
Africa: Air Pollution Can Increase the Risk of Covid Infection and Severe Disease #AfricaClimateCrisis
The early part of the COVID pandemic led to a significant reduction in air pollution in many parts of the world. With lockdowns, travel restrictions and decreased economic… Read more »
March 19, 2023
Ghana: Ghana's Plan for a Grand New National Cathedral Sparks Debate
The building of Ghana's spectacular $400 million national cathedral designed by famed architect David Adjaye has stalled amid an economic crisis. The plan has drawn sharp public… Read more »
March 15, 2023
South Africa: Power Cuts Are Hurting Small Businesses in South Africa
Worldwide, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are seen as the backbone of a thriving economy. They make up a substantial portion of the total number of companies and are estimated… Read more »
March 14, 2023
Africa: Farms in Cities - New Study Offers Planners and Growers Food for Thought
Urban agriculture as a global phenomenon is widely promoted as a sustainable land use practice. On small plots and in big projects, using sophisticated technology or simple… Read more »
South Africa: Why New Electricity Minister Should Heed the Words of Former Eskom CEO
A month ago South Africans heard some hard truths about the state of the power utility, Eskom, from the outgoing CEO André de Ruyter. In an interview broadcast on… Read more »
Nigeria: Central Bank Made Critical Mistakes That Doomed the Country's Currency Redesign
Nigeria has successfully introduced new banknotes on about 10 occasions since independence in 1960. So why has the latest attempt been so controversial and traumatic? And what… Read more »
March 12, 2023
Africa: ChatGPT is the Push Higher Education Needs to Rethink Assessment
The COVID-19 pandemic was a shock to higher education systems everywhere. But while some changes, like moving lectures online, were relatively easy to make, assessment posed a much… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Cities Are Growing Fast - Family Planning Must Be Part of Urban Development Plans
Nigeria is rapidly urbanising, with more people living in urban areas than in rural communities. A recent World Bank estimate shows that 53% of the 213 million Nigerians live in… Read more »
March 09, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's First Skyscraper Closes - and Leaves a Complicated Legacy
The Hilton Hotel was one of Nairobi's first skyscrapers. The iconic cylindrical tower was opened in 1969 by President Jomo Kenyatta, six years after Kenya's independence from… Read more »