January 08, 2023
Africa: Mad World - Global Flashpoints to Watch in 2023 in the Era of 'Polycrisis'
When 2022 began, there was trepidation about what might happen in at least ten regions. Topping most lists were concerns about tensions in Ukraine, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. Read more »
January 11, 2023
Tanzania: Why Solar-Powered Cold Storage Could Be a Sustainable Solution to Tomato Harvest Waste #AfricaClimateHope
Feeding Africa's growing population is a big development challenge for governments, policy makers and agriculture experts. Adding to the challenge is the high level of food loss… Read more »
January 09, 2023
Africa: Invasive Rats Are Changing Fish Behaviour On Coral Reefs - New Study
Coral reefs are degrading rapidly to the extent that their marine inhabitants must either adapt or die. For many animals, including reef fish, behaviour is one of the first… Read more »
January 10, 2023
Kenya: Kenya and South Africa Are Working to Address Trade Barriers - Where to Start
Trade volumes between Kenya and South Africa have always been minimal compared to each country's engagement with its other major trading partners. But in recent years, leaders of… Read more »
December 17, 2022
Africa: ICC Upholds Jail Term for Ugandan Rebel Commander Ongwen - Why It Matters for Africa
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has upheld its 25-year jail term against former Ugandan rebel commander Dominic Ongwen. In a decision delivered on 15 December, the ICC… Read more »
December 21, 2022
Kenya: Female Genital Mutilation Rates Peak During School Holidays - an Alternative Option Offers a Solution
Female genital mutilation is a practice deeply rooted in cultural traditions around the world. The World Health Organisation defines it as comprising all procedures that involve… Read more »
December 17, 2022
Uganda: The ICC Upholds 25-Year Jail Term for Ongwen - Why It Matters for Africa
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has upheld its 25-year jail term against former Ugandan rebel commander Dominic Ongwen. In a decision delivered on 15 December, the ICC… Read more »
December 15, 2022
Kenya: Many Kenyans Have Embraced Vigilante Cops - An Ineffective Police Force Is to Blame
In March 2017, Ahmed Rashid, a Kenyan police officer, shot and killed two unarmed teenagers accused of theft. They had surrendered and were lying on the ground in a Nairobi… Read more »
December 14, 2022
Tanzania: Why Humans Walk On Two Legs - Some Old Theories Put to the Test
There's no trait that distinguishes humans from all other mammals more clearly than the way we walk. Human habitual bipedalism - obligatory walking on two legs - has long been a… Read more »
Kenya: Four Essential Reads On a Year of Political Drama and Economic Hardships
The year 2022 was always going to be an eventful one. After nearly 10 years in power, President Uhuru Kenyatta was destined to leave office to make way for the winner of the August… Read more »
December 12, 2022
East Africa: The Lapsset Development Corridor - Between a Bright Future and a Grim Past
The Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport - or Lapsset - corridor is the flagship project of Kenya's Vision 2030 development agenda. Inaugurated in 2012, the planned corridor… Read more »
December 08, 2022
Ethiopia: Abiy Ahmed Gained Power With the Help of Young People - Four Years Later He's Silencing Them
When Abiy Ahmed took power as Ethiopia's prime minister in April 2018, he was the youngest head of government in Africa. Read more »
December 05, 2022
Mauritius: Why Britain Should Immediately Withdraw From Mauritius' Chagos Islands
Britain is on the cusp of decolonising Mauritius - again. The first attempt at decolonisation took place in 1968 but went unfulfilled when London kept hold of an island group that… Read more »
December 04, 2022
Ethiopia: Half a Million Ethiopian Migrants Have Been Deported From Saudi Arabia in 5 Years - What They Go Through
Tens of thousands of migrant Ethiopian workers have been forcibly repatriated from Saudi Arabia each year since the early 2010s. Although this is carried out as part of a crackdown… Read more »
November 29, 2022
Kenya: 6 Priorities to Get Kenya's Curriculum Back On Track - or Risk Excluding Many Children From Education
Kenya's education curriculum was reformed in 2017 to improve its quality - but now many Kenyans are calling for change again. Public disillusionment with the competency-based… Read more »
November 28, 2022
East Africa: East African Court of Justice - What It Is and What Its Powers Are
Martha Karua, the running mate of Raila Odinga, the losing candidate in Kenya's 2022 presidential election, continues to dispute William Ruto's slim victory over him. According to… Read more »
November 24, 2022
Kenya: Al-Shabaab - Sensational Media Reports About Terror Attacks Keep Kids Out of School
Sensational reporting on terror attacks in Kenya is keeping children out of school, with dire consequences for their education and their futures. Read more »
Kenya: Community Wildlife Conservation Isn't Always a Win-Win Solution - The Case of Kenya's Samburu
Community-based wildlife conservation is often promoted as a win-win solution. The idea behind this approach is that the people who live close to wildlife can be involved in… Read more »
November 23, 2022
Congo-Kinshasa: M23 - Four Things You Should Know About the Rebel Group's Campaign in Rwanda-DRC Conflict
Fighting between the Democratic Republic of Congo's national army and the rebel group M23 has displaced thousands of people in the eastern border city of Goma. Formed 10 years ago,… Read more »
November 21, 2022
Uganda: Ebola - Schools Were Closed for Two Years During Covid, Now They Face More Closures - Something Must Change
Children in Uganda missed out on more school because of the COVID pandemic than their peers anywhere else in the world. An estimated 15 million pupils in the East African nation… Read more »
Tanzania: Pregnant Students May Stay in School Says New Ruling By African Child Rights Experts
The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of Children recently made what experts call a landmark ruling. The committee is a regional quasi-judicial organ of the… Read more »
November 20, 2022
Somalia: Time for a New Strategy On Al-Shabaab
In October 2022, Somalia's capital Mogadishu suffered yet another massive suicidal attack. More than 100 people were killed. Hundreds more were wounded and thousands will have been… Read more »
November 17, 2022
Ethiopia: Civet Musk, a Precious Perfume Ingredient, Is Under Threat.
The African civet -- an animal closely related to the mongoose and widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa -- is among four mammals known to secrete scented compounds. Civets… Read more »
November 11, 2022
Kenya: Presidential Term Limits Will Be Hard to Scrap - Here's What It Would Take
A member of parliament in Kenyan president William Ruto's governing coalition created a firestorm by suggesting that there was a plan to remove presidential term limits in the… Read more »
November 09, 2022
Kenya: Kenya Violence - 5 Key Drivers of the Decades-Long Conflict in the North and What to Do About Them
Conflict and insecurity are prevalent in northern Kenya. In recent weeks, cases of bandit attacks in the region have left villages terrorised and led to several deaths. In October… Read more »