Africa: We're a Step Closer to Learning How Misplaced DNA Could Influence Disease Risk

DNA is our body's instruction manual. It contains all the information that our cells need to make proteins and other molecules vital for our development, growth and survival. Read more »

Africa: A Microbiologist Reveals the Shocking Truth About Dirt and Germs in Hotel Rooms

For most of us, staying in a hotel room is either something of a necessity - think business travel - or something to look forward to as part of a holiday or wider excursion. Read more »

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 »

Africa: The Limits of Expert Judgment - Lessons From Social Science Forecasting During the Pandemic

Imagine being a policymaker at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. You have to decide which actions to recommend, how much risk to tolerate and what sacrifices to ask your… Read more »

Africa: As Bird Flu Continues to Spread in the US and Worldwide, What's the Risk That It Could Start a Human Pandemic? 4 Questions Answered

An outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza that started in 2021 has become the largest bird flu outbreak in history, both in the U.S. and worldwide. In the U.S. the virus has led to the… Read more »

Africa: Looting and Decay - How The Pandemic Wrought Real Damage to African Heritage

The Covid-19 pandemic will long be remembered for the lockdowns it imposed and the millions of lives it stole, particularly among the elderly. A recent Unesco report shows that it… Read more »

Kenya: Kenya Introduced Free Maternal Health Services a Decade Ago - It's Been a Success, Saving Lives

Maternal and newborn deaths are a major public health problem in Kenya. In 2020 the maternal mortality ratio was 530 deaths per 100,000 live births. This is much higher than the… Read more »

South Africa: Medicine Stockouts Are a Problem in South Africa's Clinics - How Pharmacist Assistants Can Help

Primary healthcare clinics are the main healthcare access point for millions of South Africans. Read more »

South Africa: Long Covid - What We Know About How the Condition Affects Mental Health

Many people have persistent symptoms after recovering from COVID, a condition termed "long COVID". The UK's Office for National Statistics estimates 1.8 million people in the UK… Read more »

Equatorial Guinea: Covid, Bird Flu, Mpox - a Virologist On Why We're Seeing So Many Viruses Emerge

From the widespread outbreak of mpox (formerly called monkeypox) in 2022, to the evolving bird flu situation, to recent cases of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, COVID isn't… Read more »

Africa: What the Research Shows About Risks of Myocarditis From Covid Vaccines Versus Risks of Heart Damage From Covid

Soon after the first COVID-19 vaccines appeared in 2021, reports of rare cases of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, began to surface. Read more »

Africa: Droughts Bring Disease - Here Are 4 Ways They Do It

Countries in the Horn of Africa have been hit by a multiyear drought. Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda are expected to continue getting below-normal rainfall in 2023. Excluding… Read more »

Equatorial Guinea: Marburg Virus Outbreaks Are Increasing in Frequency and Geographic Spread - Three Virologists Explain

The World Health Organization confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus disease in the central African country of Equatorial Guinea on Feb. 13, 2023. To date, there have… Read more »

Africa: Three Years On, The Covid Pandemic May Never End - But The Public Health Impact Is Becoming More Manageable

Three years ago, on March 11 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus first formally described COVID-19 as a pandemic. Read more »

Africa: Suicide Attempts Rose Among Children and Adolescents During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Especially for Girls

Will the kids be alright? There was hope that children and adolescents would "bounce back" as the pandemic progressed, but sadly, the data suggest otherwise. Read more »

South Africa: Depression, Anxiety and Childhood Trauma- Study Explores Links, Prevalence and Who's Most At Risk

Mental health problems among adults are an ever-increasing public health concern. These include depression, anxiety, and conditions associated with bad childhood experiences such… Read more »

Africa: Disputes Over Covid's Origins Reveal an Intelligence Community in Disarray. Here Are 4 Fixes We Need Before the Next Pandemic

A recent Wall Street Journal article reported on new, classified intelligence from the US Department of Energy about the origins of COVID. It concluded with "low confidence" that… Read more »

Africa: Long Covid Linked to Air Pollution Exposure in Young Adults - New Study

Although COVID-19 infections are typically less severe in young adults, that doesn't mean they aren't still at risk of complications from COVID-19. For example, around one in 25… Read more »

Africa: The Pandemic Exposed Gender Inequality - Let's Seize the Opportunity to Remedy It

This year, we are commemorating International Women's Day alongside the three-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more »

Kenya: A New Invasive Mosquito Has Been Found in Kenya - What This Means for Malaria Control

The Kenya Medical Research Institute recently detected an invasive mosquito species in Laisamis and Saku subcounties of Marsabit county in Kenya's northern region. Read more »

Africa: Curious Kids - What Happens to Your Brain If You Don't Get Enough Sleep?

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. Have a question you'd like an expert to answer? Send it to CuriousKidsCanada@theconversation.com. Read more »

Africa: How to Ditch 'Fomo' and Foster 'Jomo' - the Joy of Missing Out

Have you ever felt a sense of joy because you knew you were missing out on an invitation to a party, shiny new opportunities or the latest social media posts and influencer trends… Read more »

Ghana: Bipolar Disorder Is Poorly Understood in Ghana - Knowing the Facts Can Help Prevent Suffering

Attitudes to mental health conditions are often influenced by matters of awareness and belief systems. Bipolar disorder is one of the conditions that's frequently misunderstood and… Read more »

South Africa: Tabloid Newspapers Are Seen As Sensationalist - but South Africa's Daily Sun Flipped That Script During Covid-19

Tabloid journalism usually refers to short, easily readable and mostly human-interest news, presented in a highly visual and sensationalist style. "Tabloidisation" has become… Read more »

Africa: When Should We Worry About Bird Flu Making Us Sick? When We See Human-to-Human Transmission - and There's No Evidence of That Yet

Bird flu has been causing growing concern in recent months, with hundreds of millions of birds dying of the virus since October 2021. This is the largest global outbreak. Read more »