South Africa: Fossil Hunters Find Tracks of Animals From About 3 Million Years Ago - a First in South Africa

South Africa is well known for its fossil heritage, a record of plants and animals that tells us what the world was like long ago. Read more »

South Africa: Machines Whisper Before They Scream - We Built an AI Model That Predicts Expensive Problems

In most industries, maintenance is a waiting game. Things are fixed when they break. But in the 21st century, an age defined by data and automation, that approach no longer makes… Read more »

South Africa: Johannesburg's Produce Market Has Supplied the Informal Sector for Decades - a Refresh Is Due

South Africa's food system is a complex landscape where high levels of production coexist with severe food insecurity. In a 2024 survey, 63.5% of households were found to be food… Read more »

South Africa: Youth Workers Are Spreading Health Messages On Social Media - How to Support What They Do in South Africa

Mental health messaging on platforms like TikTok and WhatsApp is becoming common in the digital age. Globally, digital media technologies have become integral to how young people… Read more »

Malawi: How to Stay Healthy On HIV Treatment, and What Side Effects to Look Out for - Malawi Research

HIV treatment has delivered life-altering advantages. Antiretroviral therapy has led to a reduced mortality and improved life expectancy for people living with HIV. Nearly 41… Read more »

South Africa: No Space for Culture - 'Matchbox Housing' Leaves Residents Unable to Honour Customs in a South African Town

In South Africa, urban planning is influenced by western-centric and colonial planning, including social housing, building technologies, architectural form, master plans, zoning,… Read more »

Africa: News Influencers Are Reshaping the Media - Insights From Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa

News creators and influencers have become increasingly important sources of news as more people turn to social media and video networks like Facebook and YouTube to inform… Read more »

South Africa: Thousands of Criminals Reoffend in South Africa - Better Data Would Show Where the Justice System Is Failing

In a recent statement, South Africa's minister of correctional services said more than 18,000 parolees had reoffended in the past three years. They included 209 committing murder… Read more »

Africa: India and South Africa Burn a Lot of Coal - What They Can Learn From Each Other About Ending the Dependency

India and South Africa are both navigating one of the toughest challenges of the 21st century: shifting their electricity systems away from ageing coal-fired power stations while… Read more »

Southern Africa: School Violence Doesn't Happen in Isolation - What Research From Southern Africa Is Telling Us

School violence is a global public health phenomenon. This is when learners and teachers are the victims of physical and psychological abuse, cyber threats and bullying, fights,… Read more »

Africa: South Africa's G20 Presidency - Diplomatic Victory, but a Weak Final Declaration

US president Donald Trump's efforts to derail a successful wrap-up of the G20 summit in Johannesburg failed. Trump boycotted the meeting and the US told other countries through… Read more »

South Africa: Long Covid's Hidden Toll - the South Africans Still Battling Fatigue, Anxiety and Memory Loss

"I feel better, but my mind isn't the same." Four years after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, such comments are still heard regularly in many medical practices in South… Read more »

South Africa: Violence Against Women and Children Is Deeply Connected. Three Ways to Break the Patterns

In South Africa, intimate partner violence is the most common form of violence against women, and it is pervasive. According to the National Gender-Based Violence Prevalence Study,… Read more »

South Africa: South Africans Are Flourishing More Than You Might Expect - Here's Why

South Africa is often portrayed in the media as a country struggling with inequality, corruption, crime, infrastructure collapse and public health challenges. But this isn't the… Read more »

South Africa: South Africans Have Lost Trust in the Police, in Parliament and in Political Parties - What That Means

For democracies to function well, citizens have to trust their institutions. Every incidence of bad service delivery or corruption will influence how much citizens trust… Read more »

Mozambique: The Three Big Reasons Why Mozambique Is Not Adapting to Climate Change and What Needs to Be Done

Around the world, societies are looking for ways to live with climate change. Adapting to a hotter and harsher future means scientists, governments and communities must find ways… Read more »

South Africa: G20 and the Civil Society Elite - Spectacle Instead of Meaningful Action

Behind the talk of fighting inequality at the group of 20 most powerful economies in the world, the G20, lies a carefully staged show - one that manages dissent rather than… Read more »

Africa: Africa Has a Debt Crisis - Momentum From G20 in South Africa Can Help Find Solutions

The end of South Africa's G20 presidency does not mean the end of its ability or responsibility to promote the issues it prioritised during 2025. It can still advocate for action… Read more »

Zambia: COP30 - Zambia's Forest Communities Need Finance for Solar Power - So They Don't Have to Cut Down Trees to Pay for It

Across rural Zambia, small solar home systems and lanterns have transformed daily life. Between 2018 and 2022, more than one million small solar devices were sold across the… Read more »

South Africa: Darker Shade of Pale - Why I Wrote a Book About My Grandfather and How It Changed My View of Him

Deborah Posel, the founding director of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research, an interdisciplinary research institute in the humanities and social sciences in South… Read more »

South Africa: We Studied the Walking Habits of Young Men in Cape Town and London - and Debunked a Myth

Being mobile means people can get access to opportunities and take part in economic and social life. Mobility, in all its forms, is critical for cities to thrive. Read more »

South Africa: South Africa Needs to Rethink Its Community Media Policy - 4 Ways to Close the Gaps

Community media have received support for around three decades, and yet South Africa's information landscape remains deeply unequal. Read more »

Zimbabwe: COP30 - Zimbabwe's Forest and Energy Projects Reveal the Downside of Carbon Credits

Carbon offsets are a way for companies or countries that pollute the air to "cancel out" some of their carbon emissions by funding projects that protect forests, plant trees, or… Read more »

South Africa: Secret Electricity Price Hikes in South Africa to Be Curbed in a Game-Changing Court Ruling

A recent high court judgment could be a game changer for the setting of municipal electricity tariffs in South Africa. In late October 2025, the court ruled that the process used… Read more »

Zimbabwe: Harare's Street Traders Create Their Own System to Survive in the City

The informal sector has become a dominant source of livelihoods for urban residents in African cities. Within this sector, street trading is one of the most visible and vital… Read more »