March 04
Africa: Cost-of-Living Crisis - Experts Share 3 Survival Tips
The price increases for essential goods such as food, petrol and household utilities are a global concern, but the region most hurt by the surge in food prices is sub-Saharan… Read more »
March 06
Nigeria: Botched Economic Reforms Plunge the Country Into Crisis
Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is facing an economic crisis. From a botched currency redesign to the removal of fuel subsidies and a currency float, the nation has been plunged… Read more »
West Africa: West Africa's Coast Was a Haven for Piracy and Illegal Fishing - How Technology Is Changing the Picture
The Gulf of Guinea - a coastal region that stretches from Senegal to Angola - is endowed with vast reserves of hydrocarbon, mineral and fisheries resources. It is also an important… Read more »
March 04
Kenya: Kenyans Use Humour to Counter Unpopular State Policies - Memes Are the Latest Tool
Seemingly disillusioned with the country's leadership, Kenyans have taken to new ways of expressing their anger and frustration with their government. Read more »
March 03
South Africa: Big Companies, Like Nestlé, Are Funding Health Research in South Africa - Why This Is Wrong
In 2021, the director of the African Research University Alliance Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of Pretoria was appointed to the board of the… Read more »
February 29
South Africa: South Africa's Business Students Want Their Own Industry Superheroes and Success Stories in the Syllabus - Study
In the past few years there's been much discussion globally about the need to decolonise education. Decolonisation is the process of undoing the impact of colonial thinking and its… Read more »
February 28
Africa: Why Developing Countries Must Unite to Protect the WTO's Dispute Settlement System
The World Trade Organisation's dispute settlement mechanism has, for decades, provided stability and predictability to the resolution of disputes between member countries. As… Read more »
February 27
Africa: Africa Needs China for Its Digital Development - but At What Price?
Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong… Read more »
Cameroon: Benefits of Using Cleaner Cooking Fuels Are Blunted in Urban Areas Where Outdoor Air Is Polluted
Household air pollution from cooking, heating and lighting with fuels like wood, charcoal and kerosene poses a substantial global health problem. Read more »
February 26
Mozambique: Mozambique's Unstable and Expensive Power Supply Is Devastating Small Businesses
Inside a small bakery in Maputo, the morning's batch of 150 loaves of bread has just gone into the oven. But there's a problem: the electricity has gone out without warning for the… Read more »
February 22
Africa: Africa's Debt Crisis Needs a Bold New Approach - Expert
It hasn't been easy for African states to finance their developmental and environmental policy objectives over the past few years. Read more »
February 13
Africa: Why Is Free Time Still So Elusive?
There have been massive gains in productivity over the past century. Read more »
February 20
Nigeria: Lagos - Drugs, Firearms and Youth Unemployment Create Lethal Cocktail
Lagos is the most populous city in Africa and a regional economic giant, having west Africa's busiest seaport. It is the centre of commercial and economic activities in Nigeria. Read more »
February 16
Africa: Extraction of Raw Materials Could Rise 60 Percent By 2060 - and Making Mining 'Greener' Won't Stop the Damage
The United Nations' flagship Global Resources Outlook report is the portrait of a juggernaut. Due to be published later this month by the UN's International Resource Panel, it… Read more »
Africa: State-Owned Energy Companies Are Among the World's Most Polluting - Putting a Price On Carbon Could Help
Existing measures to cajole companies to decarbonise, with subsidies for renewable energy and carbon taxes, have failed to prevent global emissions rising. Does state ownership,… Read more »
February 18
Mali: Slums and Guns in Bamako - What's Driving the Illegal Weapon Trade in Mali's Capital City
As west Africa urbanises, many cities have become interconnected through trade, travel and technology, and crime has increased in complexity and scope. The proliferation of arms in… 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
Ghana: New Vehicle Tax Aims to Tackle Pollution - Expert Unpacks How It'll Work and Suggests Reforms
Ghana has introduced an annual carbon levy on vehicles and industrial emissions. It's only the third African country to introduce an explicit carbon tax, after South Africa and… Read more »
February 14
West Africa: West Africa Trade Will Take a Hit As Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Leave Ecowas
The membership of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has been whittled down from 15 to 12 following the unilateral withdrawal of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in… Read more »
February 08
Africa: Secrets of Soil-Enriching Pulses Could Transform Future of Sustainable Agriculture
From lentils to chickpeas, and even the humble baked bean, pulses are perhaps best known as an alternative, plant-based source of protein. These plants are environmental heroes:… Read more »
February 07
Ethiopia: Somaliland-Ethiopia Port Deal - International Opposition Flags Complex Red Sea Politics
The memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland announced on 1 January 2024 set off diplomatic rows in the Horn of Africa - and beyond. Read more »
January 29
Africa: That Sharp, Green Smell of Freshly Cut Grass? It's a Plant's Cry for Help - and It May Work As a Less Toxic Pesticide for Farmers
Have you ever wondered about that sharp, green note that hits your nose when you mow the lawn or cut flower stems? Those are green leaf volatiles, or GLVs: easily evaporated oils… 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
Africa: African Countries Are Struggling With High Debt, Demands to Spend More and Collapsing Currencies
Highly indebted African countries are facing stark trade-offs between servicing expensive debt, supporting high and growing development needs, and stabilising domestic currencies. Read more »
January 30
Congo-Kinshasa: 'We Miners Die a Lot.' Appalling Conditions and Poverty Wages - the Lives of Cobalt Miners in the DRC
It was a cool, dusty morning in July 2021, when I first visited the Kamilombe cobalt mine in Lualaba Province in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Situated just outside… Read more »