June 23
South Africa: Johannesburg Has Taken a Big New Loan to Help Fix Its Electricity Problems, but the Results Will Take Time
Just over a third (38%) of the residents of South Africa's commercial capital, Johannesburg, reported being satisfied with their electricity services in a survey conducted in… Read more »
Kenya: Did Kenya's Gen Z Protests Achieve Anything? an Economist Weighs Up What's Changed and What's Stayed the Same
Kenya's Gen Z-led protests of 2024 drew global headlines. For weeks, young people mobilised against proposed tax increases, the rising cost of living, unemployment, corruption and… Read more »
June 22
Ethiopia: Can an Ancient Oromo Philosophy Help Ethiopia Build Peace? Why Namummaa Matters
Ethiopia's Oromo people have an indigenous philosophy known as Namummaa, or "humanness", which places relationships and peace at the centre of social life. The Oromo are Ethiopia's… Read more »
June 21
South Africa: Vaccine Hesitancy Can't Be Boiled Down to a Single Factor - What We Learnt in South Africa and Brazil
Vaccine uptake has been declining in Brazil and South Africa over the last decade. This decline has reversed important gains in protecting children against vaccine-preventable… Read more »
June 18
Namibia: Who Was Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo? the Namibian Leader Who Chose Justice Over Power
Celebrated Namibian liberation leader Andimba Toivo ya Toivo played an important role in his country's development. Beyond Namibia, however, he remains unknown to many. Read more »
June 17
Africa: Money, Food and Survival - What Drives Paid Sex Among Young Mums in 3 African Countries
Transactional sex, defined as the exchange of sex for money, food, or favours, is common among young people in Africa. Studies have reported that about 10% of those aged 15-24 have… Read more »
South Africa: Xenophobia in South Africa - State's Complicity With Gangs and Vigilantes Is Threatening Its Ability to Govern
Marches, Mozambicans murdered, state-sponsored evacuations, a nationally televised presidential address. Anti-immigrant mobilisation has again drawn the world's attention to South… Read more »
June 16
Zimbabwe: Great Zimbabwe - Debunking the Myth of Tyrants and Forced Labour
For more than a century, Great Zimbabwe has stood at the centre of a powerful story about the Zimbabwe culture. This remarkable African civilization flourished in southern Africa… Read more »
June 15
Africa: South Africa Is Short of 2.6 Million Homes - Vienna's Approach to Social Housing Offers Useful Lessons
South Africa faces a housing backlog of at least 2.6 million units, for more than 12 million people. The state supply of new, subsidised housing has declined over the past decade… Read more »
June 14
South Africa: Ma Vesta Smith - Why This Unsung Activist Matters 50 Years After the Soweto Uprising
While many men are remembered as heroes of political struggles, women seldom get enough attention. Vesta Smith is a good example. She fought for South Africa's liberation from… Read more »
South Africa: Young, South African and Unemployed - Finding Direction Starts With Knowing Yourself - Counsellor
Thirty-two years after South Africa became a democratic state, the futures of millions of young people in the country are shaped to a large degree by uncertainty, exclusion,… Read more »
June 11
West Africa: Forced Labour in West African Cybercrime Academies - How Fear Traps Young Men
Forced labour in cybercrime might call to mind scam compounds in south-east Asia. A growing body of scholarship, journalism and policy attention has entrenched that stereotype.… Read more »
South Africa: Foot and Mouth Disease in South Africa - How a Tracking System Would Control Outbreaks
Foot and mouth disease is common in South Africa's wildlife reserves. There are constant efforts to make sure it doesn't spread to farmed animals. But since 2019 the country has… Read more »
Africa: Appolonia - the Story of an African Kingdom That Resisted the Atlantic Slave Trade
The transatlantic slave trade was a multilayered, highly commercialised global enterprise that lasted from the early 1500s to the mid 1800s. Read more »
June 10
South Africa: South Africa's Jobs Crisis - What 10 Years of Tax Data Tells Us
It's time South Africa faced up to an honest question: what if the formal economy can't deliver the jobs that are needed? Read more »
June 08
Ghana: Community Conservation in Ghana Has Evolved, but Policy and Funding Need to Catch Up
In Ghana, community resource management areas are the main way that local communities get involved in managing natural resources that fall outside protected areas. In this way,… Read more »
June 07
Ghana: Ghana Wants Learner-Centred Classrooms - but Many Teachers Still Favour Old Methods
Across Africa, countries are redesigning school curricula to prepare children for the demands of the 21st century. These reforms aim to nurture creativity, critical thinking,… Read more »
June 03
Africa: AI Offers Promise for Agriculture, but Smallholder Farmers Risk Being Left Behind
Globally, agriculture faces mounting pressures. These are driven by climate change, land degradation, labour shortages, supply chain disruptions and the demand for food from a… Read more »
June 02
Africa: Global Supply Chains Keep Workers Poor - Three Case Studies Show How the Cycle Can Be Broken
Globally, about one in five people in jobs live in poverty. A key reason lies in how global supply chains are organised. From agriculture to tourism, many jobs are embedded in… Read more »
May 27
Ethiopia: Ethiopia Votes - Dominant Ruling Party Seeks a New Mandate in a Deeply Fragmented Nation
Ethiopia's general election on 1 June 2026 will take place amid armed conflicts and political fragmentation. This has raised questions over voter participation and legitimacy and… Read more »
Ethiopia: Should Ethiopia Limit How Long Its Prime Minister Can Serve? Why This Won't Fix a Deeper Democracy Problem
Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed has revived debate over whether the country should impose term limits on its head of government. Speaking before the National Dialogue… Read more »
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Elections Will Not Be Politically Competitive - Two Reasons Why
Ethiopia is preparing for a national election on 1 June amid deep political uncertainty and growing insecurity. Officially, the polls are expected to reinforce the country's… Read more »
May 26
Senegal: Senegal's Ruling Alliance Has Split - Will Political Turmoil Follow?
Power struggles often play out in Senegal's political arena, both within a party and between rival parties. To summarise British foreign minister Lord Palmerston's argument in… Read more »
Senegal: In Senegal, a 2,000-Year-Old Iron Workshop Sheds New Light On the Past
How was iron produced 2,000 years ago in Senegal? A recent study at the Didé West 1 archaeological site, in the Falémé Valley in eastern Senegal, sheds light… Read more »
May 21
Egypt: How the Great Pyramid of Giza Has Survived 4,500 Years of Egyptian Earthquakes
The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt has survived more than 4,500 years. Earthquakes have repeatedly shaken the region, including the magnitude 5.8 Cairo earthquake in 1992, which… Read more »
