September 28, 2022
Nigeria: 'Gutter Water', 'Monkey Tail' and Smoked Faeces - New Drug Dangers
New, unconventional drugs are becoming popular in Nigeria, designed by dealers and users to replicate the effects of illegal substances like cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy. They… Read more »
Nigeria: Abortion Pills Are Being Widely Used in Nigeria - Women and Suppliers Talk About Their Experiences
Unintended pregnancy is common among women of reproductive age in Nigeria and a substantial number end in abortion. Annually between 2015 and 2019, almost three million pregnancies… Read more »
September 27, 2022
Africa: Abortion in Kenya and Benin - Women and Girls Need to Feel Safe Socially and Medically
Safe abortion and post abortion care are essential health services. But until the publication of the 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) abortion care guidelines there was a… Read more »
Ghana: Northern Ghana Is Underdeveloped Because of Underinvestment During Colonial Rule, Not Geography
Ghana's most important development problem is arguably the disparity between the north and south of the country. The north is acutely underdeveloped, trailing the south in… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Sacred Osun River Supports Millions of People - but Pollution Is Making It Unsafe
Pollution has become a worrying threat to Nigeria's Osun River. The river supports millions of people who rely on the water for agriculture as well as industries. It is also an… Read more »
September 24, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria Is Producing Less and Less Oil. Here's Why
Nigeria's oil output was at the lowest since 1990 as its crude oil production fell below 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in August 2022. And data from the Organisation of the… Read more »
September 21, 2022
Africa: The Scourge of Sexual Volence in West Africa, Unveiled
When Zougba's husband fled the jihadist violence crippling Burkina Faso, she soon found herself with her young son, daughter and other women on the road in a mission to join him.… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Universities Can Find Funds and Produce Job Creators - Here's How
Industrial action by Nigeria's university lecturers has entered its seventh month. The strike is one of the longest by academic staff in Africa's most populous country. Read more »
September 19, 2022
Nigeria: Akin Mabogunje - Nigerian Urban Geographer Who Mapped the Origin and Trends of African Cities
I was introduced to Professor Akin Mabogunje's work when I joined the Department of Estate Management at the University of Lagos in 2011. As a new junior lecturer, I had to read… Read more »
September 18, 2022
Ghana: New Data On the E-Levy - Unpopular Tax On Mobile Money Transfers Is Hitting the Poor Hardest
Ghana's introduction of a a 1.5% tax on mobile money transactions in May 2022 has been watched closely by policymakers across Africa. The proponents of the electronic transaction… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Endless Lecturer Strikes - Insights From Some Essential Reads
One thing that is synonymous with public universities in Nigeria is strikes. Since 1999, the public university system has lost about 57 cumulative months to industrial action. This… Read more »
West Africa: How Coastal West Africa Can Stem the Jihadist Wave
Jihadist conflicts are now a part of West Africa's political makeup, as militant Islamist groups resist numerous campaigns to counter them. Read more »
September 13, 2022
Ghana: Ghana's Efforts to Employ Young People and Regrow Forests Could Work Better
Deforestation has been an issue of global concern for many years. Deforestation is a major environmental concern because of its adverse effects on ecological sustainability,… Read more »
September 15, 2022
Benin: The Woman King Is More Than an Action Movie - It Shines a Light On the Women Warriors of Benin
The Woman King is a big-budget Hollywood movie that has been anticipated since 2018, when US star Viola Davis was announced as the lead in the story of the "amazons" of Dahomey.… Read more »
Nigeria: Five Steps Nigeria Must Take to Stop Buildings Collapsing in Lagos
Buildings in Lagos state, Nigeria's economic hub, have in recent years been collapsing in greater numbers than ever. Between 2000 and 2021 the city experienced 167 reported cases,… Read more »
September 14, 2022
Senegal: 2024 Presidential Poll Is Shaping Up As a Real Contest, With Voters in the Driver's Seat
In July 2022 Senegalese voters converged at polling stations to elect 165 members of parliament (MPs) to represent them in the National Assembly. Read more »
September 12, 2022
Nigeria: How Nigerian Students Became 'Change Agents' in Solid Waste Management
Nigerian cities aren't managing solid waste effectively. Waste has to be managed all the way from generation to storage, collection, transport, recycling, treatment and disposal.… Read more »
September 09, 2022
Nigeria: The King's Horseman, Nigeria's Most Famous Play, Is Now a Netflix Movie - What Makes It a Classic
Elesin Oba, the King's Horseman is a new movie coming to Netflix. It is based on Nigeria's most famous play, Death and the King's Horseman, written in 1975 by Nobel Prize-winning… Read more »
September 11, 2022
Nigeria: Ovarian Condition That Can Cause Missed Menstrual Periods and Infertility Is Going Undetected
Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common gynaecological endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. It affects between 4% and 20% of women globally and is influenced by… Read more »
September 09, 2022
Cameroon: Cameroon's 'Exploding Lakes' - Disaster Expert Warns Deadly Gas Release Could Cause Another Tragedy
A sudden change on 29 August 2022 in the colour and smell of Lake Kuk, in north-west Cameroon, has caused anxiety and panic among the local residents. Fears are driven by an… Read more »
September 08, 2022
Nigeria: 17 Strikes in 23 Years - A Unionist Explains Why University Lecturers Won't Back Down
Lecturers at Nigeria's public universities have been on strike 16 times since 1999. On 14 February 2022 they went back on strike to make it the 17th. Only 11 of Nigeria's 59 state… Read more »
West Africa: West Africa's Fisher Women Are Experts At Coping With Job Insecurity
All along West Africa's coastline, women play a vital role in the fisheries sector as processors, traders and distributors. Read more »
September 07, 2022
Nigeria: How Trade Can Help Beat Inequality - WTO Head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
In a recent study South Africa was identified as ranking first of 164 countries in the World Bank's global poverty database. Underlying this inequality is its very high rates of… Read more »
September 02, 2022
Ghana: Modern Slavery - How a Drama Project Educates Communities Through the Stories of Survivors
An estimated 40.3 million people around the world are trapped in slavery. One in four victims are children, with women and girls affected most. Modern slavery occurs when people… Read more »
Africa: Gorbachev's Legacy in Africa Remains Ambiguous
Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. He presided over the end of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States as well as… Read more »