March 04
South Africa: South Africa Has More Than 4 Million People Living With Diabetes - Study Shows Many Aren't Getting Proper Treatment
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. Read more »
March 01
Africa: Covid-19 Rapid Tests Still Work Against New Variants - Researchers Keep 'Testing the Tests,' and They Pass
By September 2020, just six months after COVID-19 triggered shutdowns across the U.S., it was clear that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had mutated from its original… 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 23
Africa: Early Covid-19 Research Is Riddled With Poor Methods and Low-Quality Results - a Problem for Science the Pandemic Worsened but Didn't Create
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers flooded journals with studies about the then-novel coronavirus. Many publications streamlined the peer-review process for COVID-19… Read more »
February 21
Africa: Outrage Culture Is a Big, Toxic Problem. Why Do We Take Part? and How Can We Stop?
"Outrage culture" is pervasive in the digital age. It refers to our collective tendency to react, often with intense negativity, to developments around us. Read more »
February 28
Africa: Mounting Research Shows That Covid-19 Leaves Its Mark On the Brain, Including With Significant Drops in IQ Scores
From the very early days of the pandemic, brain fog emerged as a significant health condition that many experience after COVID-19. Read more »
February 27
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 24
South Africa: Pregnant Women in South Africa Should Be Offered Social Grants - It'll Save the State Money in the Long Run
A baby's first 1,000 days, from the time of conception until their second birthday, is a crucial window of opportunity to optimise their potential - through healthy nutrition for… Read more »
February 21
Africa: 80 Percent of Premature Baby Deaths Happen in Poorer Countries. Five Simple Measures That Can Help Save Them
Worldwide in 2020 a baby died every 40 seconds because of complications of prematurity. Preterm birth is the leading cause of death among children under 5 years old. 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 21
Kenya: Antibiotic Use On Kenya's Dairy Farms Is Putting Consumers and Animals At Risk
Farmers often use antibiotics to keep their livestock healthy. They're sometimes used as "quick fixes", to avoid more costly management measures like regular disinfection, waste… Read more »
February 14
Africa: Why Banning Gym Selfies Could Do Us All a Lot of Good
Taking selfies to document daily life is now a completely normalised activity across all ages and demographics. Read more »
February 18
South Africa: HIV Among Older South Africans in Rural Areas - Big Study Shows There's a Problem That's Being Neglected
South Africa continues to have a high prevalence of HIV among all age groups. About 8.2 million people or 13.7% of the population live with HIV, one of the highest rates in the… Read more »
February 08
Africa: Anger, Sadness, Boredom, Anxiety - Emotions That Feel Bad Can Be Useful
Remember the sadness that came with the last time you failed miserably at something? Or the last time you were so anxious about an upcoming event that you couldn't concentrate for… Read more »
Africa: 'It Needs to Be Talked About Earlier' - Some Children Get Periods At 8, Years Before Menstruation Is Taught At School
Managing menstruation in public can be challenging at the best of times, but imagine being eight years old and having to deal with your period at school. You might need to change… Read more »
February 11
South Africa: Medicinal Plants Help Keep Children Healthy in South Africa - 61 Species Were Recorded
In 2021, almost 33 of every 1,000 South African children under five years old died. Read more »
February 05
Africa: Why Do People and Animals Need to Breathe? a Biologist Explains Why You Need a Constant Source of Oxygen
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Read more »
February 07
Africa: Demography and Reproductive Rights Are Environmental Issues - Insights From Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa's population is growing three times faster than the rest of the world with an average of 4.6 births per woman in 2021. By comparison, the fertility rate in… Read more »
February 06
Africa: Microplastics Found in Nile River's Tilapia Fish - New Study
The Nile is one of the world's most famous rivers. It's also Africa's most important freshwater system. About 300 million people live in the 11 countries it flows through. Many… Read more »
February 05
Africa: A New Virus-Like Entity Has Just Been Discovered - 'Obelisks' Explained
Biological entities called obelisks have been hiding - in large numbers - inside the human mouth and gut. These microscopic entities, which were recently discovered by a team at… Read more »
South Africa: Thirty Years of Rural Health Research - South Africa's Agincourt Studies Offer Unique Insights
In 1992 a group of academics from the University of the Witwatersrand introduced a health and socio-demographic surveillance system in remote, rural South Africa to track and… Read more »
February 02
Cape Verde: Cape Verde Is the Third African Country to Eliminate Malaria - Here's How
Cape Verde has been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization. Read more »
January 26
Africa: Certain Indoor Air Pollutants Can Be Absorbed Through the Skin - Here's What You Need to Know
Even though most of us will spend a majority of our lives indoors, that doesn't mean we aren't still exposed to air pollution. Indoor air contains a wide array of pollutants… Read more »
January 29
Africa: Neglected Tropical Diseases Persist in the World's Poorest Places
It's sobering to reflect that "neglected tropical diseases" are referred to as "neglected" because they persist in the poorest, most marginalised communities even after being wiped… Read more »
Kenya: Healthcare Workers Abuse a Third of Young Mums From Informal Settlements - Study
Adolescent pregnancy is a global public health concern: in 2022, about 13% of girls and young women gave birth before the age of 18. Read more »