December 07
East Africa: 4 East African Countries Are Going for Nuclear Power - Why This Is a Bad Idea
The east Africa region has the fastest growing population in Africa. Between 2013 and 2017, its growth rate was twice the African average. The region is also experiencing strong… Read more »
Namibia: Apartheid in Namibia - Why Human Rights and Women Are Celebrated On the Same Day
10 December is worldwide commemorated as Human Rights Day. It marks the anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on that day in 1948. Many countries and… Read more »
Uganda: Terror in Uganda - What's Driving the Islamic State-Linked Rebels
The Islamic State Central Africa Province recently attacked and killed two foreign tourists and a citizen in a Ugandan nature park. Located in the country's west near the border… Read more »
South Africa: 46% of South Africa Water Contaminated, Treatment Works on Brink of Collapse
A new report by South Africa's Department of Water and Sanitation paints a grim picture of the quality of the country's drinking water, and its water infrastructure. The Blue Drop… Read more »
December 06
South Africa: COP28 - South Africa Pioneered Plans to Transition to Renewable Energy - What Went Wrong
South Africa's experience in piloting a new type of climate finance vehicle can inform debates about how to fund a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Read more »
Ghana: Ghana's Media Treats Terrorism As a Threat From Outside - It Overlooks Violence At Home
In 2022, 43% of all global terrorism deaths occurred in the Sahel - the region south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent. West Africa had… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: DRC Elections - Three Factors That Have Shaped Tshisekedi's Bumpy First Term As President
Africa's second-largest country by land mass, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is scheduled to go to the polls on 20 December 2023. President Felix Tshisekedi will be… Read more »
Africa: Don't Applaud the Climate Summit's Loss and Damage Fund Deal Just Yet - It Might Not Warrant That Standing Ovation
Shortly after the opening ceremony of the 2023 United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai, delegates of nations around the world rose in a standing ovation to celebrate a… Read more »
Africa: How Agriculture Can Make The Most of One of The World's Biggest Carbon Sink, Soil
It's right under our feet. We barely notice as we go about our lives, yet it is nothing less than the largest carbon repository among all of Earth's ecosystems. This distinction is… Read more »
Africa: Rural Communities Are Being Left Behind Because of Poor Digital Infrastructure, Research Shows
In an era where businesses and households depend on the internet for everything from marketing to banking and shopping, the lack of adequate digital access can be a significant… Read more »
December 05
South Africa: Golden Mole That Swims Through Sand Is Rediscovered in South Africa After 86 Years
The De Winton's golden mole was last seen in 1937 on the north-western coast of South Africa, and later declared officially lost. This iridescent blind mole with hearing… Read more »
Kenya: Mohamed Amin Was a Famous Kenyan Photojournalist - There's Much More to His Work Than Images of Tragedy
Kenyan photojournalist Mohamed Amin (1943-1996) rose to fame for documenting the 1984 famine in neighbouring Ethiopia with powerful images of the tragedy. He also captured the… Read more »
Africa: Could Antivirals Reduce Your Risk of Long Covid? Where the Research Is Up to On Prevention and Treatment
Evidence is continuing to accumulate on the burden and frequency of chronic effects after a COVID infection, which fall under the umbrella term "long COVID". Read more »
December 04
Africa: Getting Climate Funds to Conflict Zones - A Case for Working With Armed Groups and Local Communities
Conflict-ridden and fragile countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change and least prepared to deal with it. They are largely excluded from climate adaptation… Read more »
Africa: COP28 - With a 'Loss and Damage' Fund in Place, Protecting Climate Refugees Is More Urgent Than Ever
It has taken decades, but the complex and increasingly urgent issue of "climate mobility" has gradually become central to international climate negotiations. Read more »
December 03
South Africa: Nine Out of 10 South African Criminals Reoffend. This Is Why
A very large percentage of South Africans who are released from prison end up being rearrested and being convicted for crimes again. The country has one of the highest recidivism… Read more »
Africa: African Countries Lost Control to Foreign Mining Companies - the 3 Steps That Allowed This to Happen
Within a few years of independence, African governments asserted sovereignty over their metal and mineral resources. Prior to this, the resources were exploited by European mining… Read more »
December 01
Africa: Colonized Countries Rarely Ask for Redress Over Past Wrongs - the Reasons Can Be Complex
The king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, apologized in July 2023 for his ancestors' role in the colonial slave trade. Read more »
November 30
Africa: 'Baldur's Gate 3' Became the Surprise Hit of 2023 By Upending Conventional Wisdom About What Gives Video Games Broad Appeal
Few predicted that the smash hit video game of 2023 would feature old-school game mechanics, hours of brooding cutscenes and a vexing learning curve. Read more »
Africa: Drone Fishing in South Africa Is a Danger to Sharks and May Be Unfair to Other Fishers - Study
"Drone fishing" is a relatively recent innovation in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Some recreational anglers are using personal drones to fly baited lines into hard-to-reach… Read more »
Ghana: Ghana's Shea Industry Is Not Taking Care of the Women Behind Its Growth
Ghana's shea industry has a rich history. Shea - nkuto, karite, galam in some west African languages - is deeply embedded in the culture and tradition of the country's northern… Read more »
Africa: Building African Cities That Cope With Climate Shocks - Experts Outline What It Will Take
The international climate change negotiations began almost three decades ago when many were still hesitant to accept that human activities were changing the planet. Now the… Read more »
Africa: COP28 Climate Summit Just Approved a 'Loss and Damage' Fund. What Does This Mean?
Day one of the COP28 climate summit saw the first big breakthrough: agreement on a "loss and damage" fund to compensate poor states for the effects of climate change. Read more »
Africa: COP28 - Why We Need to Break Our Addiction to Combustion
Headlines across the world this year focused on fires, including both wildfires and the use of military firepower, in various places. Read more »
November 29
Africa: COP28 - How 7 Policies Could Help Save a Billion Lives By 2100
In a recent review of more than 180 peer-reviewed articles -- which I conducted with fellow researcher Richard Parncutt -- we found that a scientific consensus has formed around… Read more »
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