South Africa: South African Men May Now Take Their Wife's Surname - Why Traditional Leaders Are Upset

A unanimous Constitutional Court ruling has sparked fierce controversy by affirming the right of South African men to adopt their wives' surnames if they wish to. Read more »

South Africa: Pneumonia Vaccines for Adults Are Now Recommended Starting At Age 50 - a Geriatrician Explains the Change

Autumn brings a chill in the air - and the start of another season of respiratory illnesses, which can be especially hard for older adults. Read more »

Africa: Travel As Activism - 6 Stories of Black Women Who Refused to 'Stay Put' in Apartheid South Africa

For black people living in South Africa during apartheid, simply moving around the country was a fraught activity, let alone crossing its borders. This was especially the case for… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean Artist Portia Zvavahera Turns Her Prayers Into Paintings

At the Boston waterfront sits the Institute of Contemporary Art, an architectural marvel that gleams against the harbour in a wealthy neighbourhood. My Uber driver, an African… Read more »

South Africa: One in Three South Africans Have Never Heard of AI - What This Means for Policy

Artificial intelligence or AI uses computers to perform tasks that would normally have needed human intelligence. Today AI is being put to use in many aspects of everyday life,… Read more »

South Africa: Reviving South Africa's Grasslands - Eastern Cape Villagers Explain the Challenges They Face

South Africa's Eastern Cape province has several million hectares of open land in rural areas, not privately owned but held in trust by the state on behalf of communities. The… Read more »

South Africa: African Cities Aren't Doing Enough to Adapt to Climate Change - Lessons From Durban and Harare

When record-breaking rains swept through the coastal city of Durban in South Africa in April 2022, the resulting floods destroyed roads, bridges and homes. Durban's low-lying, poor… Read more »

Malawi: Malawi Can End Hunger After the 2025 Elections If Bold Steps Are Taken to Transform Food Systems

Malawi has a history of peaceful democratic transitions. Since the advent of multiparty politics in 1994, power has regularly shifted between rival parties. Citizens and… Read more »

South Africa: Hunger Among South African Students - Study Shows Those Studying Remotely Need Financial Aid for Food

The spectre of food insecurity unfortunately haunts many households in South Africa. Read more »

Angola: Angolans Are Fed Up With Broken Promises - Why the Ruling MPLA Keeps Stalling Local Elections

Weeks of protests in July 2025 in Angola left 30 dead and hundreds imprisoned. Sparked by a hike in fuel prices, the outcome of a governmental effort to reduce subsidies, the… Read more »

South Africa: Satanic Panic - 5 'Occult' Crimes That Gripped South Africa's Imagination

You might think South Africa was awash with occult crime if you scrolled through the country's tabloids, social media and even mainstream newspapers. Criminal acts performed by… Read more »

South Africa: Chalk and Talk Vs. Active Learning - What's Holding South African Teachers Back From Using Proven Methods?

As a full-time teacher completing a PhD part-time, I made a decision early on: do research that speaks to the daily realities of teachers and teaching. And so, the idea came from a… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Student Debt Trap - Two Options That Could Help Resolve the Problem

Education is widely regarded as the road to a better life. Yet the rising cost of tertiary education means many students can only go to university if they get financial aid,… Read more »

South Africa: Black Wattle As Firewood - How South African Communities Are Putting Invasive Species to Work

Australia's black wattle tree (Acacia mearnsii) has spread across South Africa, taking over millions of hectares of land and pushing indigenous plants aside. Economist Saul Ngarava… Read more »

South Africa: South African Environmental Groups Push to Block Shell's New Wells - How World Court Opinion Might Help

The International Court of Justice's landmark advisory opinion on climate change has come in handy for South African communities that are trying to stop global oil company Shell… Read more »

South Africa: Gender Equality Is the Goal, but How to Get There? Case Study of South Africa and Australia Shows That Context Matters

It will take an estimated 131 years for the world to achieve gender parity, defined as equal access, opportunities and outcomes for women and men across economic, political,… Read more »

East Africa: Baby Turtles Vanish Into the Indian Ocean for Years - Now a Model Shows Where They Might Go

All sea turtle species are threatened worldwide. They migrate long distances in the oceans - often thousands of kilometres - and so fall under multiple countries' laws and… Read more »

South Africa: Woman-Headed Households in Rural South Africa Need Water, Sanitation and Energy to Fight Hunger - G20 Could Help

Rural homes headed by women in South Africa have many problems getting water, sanitation and energy. Electricity from the grid, flush toilets and piped water are't always… Read more »

South Africa: South Africa's Small-Scale Rooibos Tea Growers Aren't Getting Much From an Industry Deal - Why It's Not Fair

A ground-breaking benefit-sharing agreement was signed in 2019 between South Africa's lucrative rooibos herbal tea industry and two organisations representing Indigenous San and… Read more »

South Africa: Genetic Tests for Cancer Can Give Uncertain Results - New Science Is Making the Picture Clearer to Guide Treatment

Cancer treatment is becoming more personalised. By considering a patient's unique genetic and molecular profile, along with their lifestyle and environmental factors, doctors can… Read more »

South Africa: How Do Bodies Decompose? Cape Town Forensic Scientists Are Pushing Frontiers of New Detection Methods

Cape Town has consistently been one of the metropolitan regions in South Africa with the highest murder rates. It has more than double the national average, and is currently ranked… Read more »

South Africa: South African Hunters Chewed the Kanna Plant for Endurance - New Study Tests Its Effects On Mouse Brain Chemistry

Sceletium tortuosum is a little succulent plant that grows in the semi-arid Karoo and Namaqualand regions of South Africa. It has a long history of traditional use among the… Read more »

South Africa: HIV Is On the Rise Among Older Africans, but Care and Research Overlook This Group - Lessons From Kenya and South Africa

For decades, public health efforts across sub-Saharan Africa have focused on HIV prevention, testing and treatment campaigns on children, and women of reproductive age, overlooking… Read more »

Namibia: What Does It Mean to Become an Adult? in Namibia, It's Caring for Others

Around the world, people become adults in different ways. In some places, it's when you get a job, get married, or move out of your parents' house. In others it might include an… Read more »

South Africa: Should Governments Pay Businesses for Climate Disasters? Researchers Unpack Huge Lawsuits in South Africa

The most catastrophic natural disaster ever recorded in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province - also the worst flood in South Africa for more than a century - has sparked two major… Read more »