April 26
South Africa: South Africa's Constitution Was Set Up As the Bedrock of Its Democracy - It's Been Challenged Over Last 30 Years, but Has Held Firm
There was a moment during the state capture years of South African president Jacob Zuma's term in office (2009 to 2018) when the veil finally slipped. There had been quiet… Read more »
April 25
Nigeria: Nigeria Is Pioneering a New Vaccine to Fight Meningitis - Why This Matters
Nigeria recently became the first country to roll out a new vaccine (called Men5CV) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which protects people against five strains… Read more »
Sudan: Sudan's Civil War Is Rooted in Its Historical Favouritism of Arab and Islamic Identity
The current civil war in Sudan goes beyond a simple power struggle between two generals. It reflects a deep-rooted crisis within the country's governing structure that's been… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigerians Throw Naira Notes Around to Show Love - but It Could Land You in Jail
The legal implication of physically damaging the naira, Nigeria's currency, came into focus recently with the prosecution of at least two celebrities by the country's Economic and… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Youth Are a Generation Lost Under Democracy - Study
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa recently painted a rosy picture in which the country's youth - "democracy's children" - had enormous opportunities for advancement, all… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Young Education Researchers Need Networks to Share Experience More Than Pressure to Produce Outputs
South Africa has for many years been a strong player in several areas of world-class research. Some of the country's researchers have made major contributions in areas like the… Read more »
South Africa: Persisting Inequality Has Made Many Young South Africans Question the Choices Made By Nelson Mandela - Podcast
Some young South Africans have begun to question Nelson Mandela's legacy, and the choices made in the transition to democracy after the end of apartheid in 1994. Some have even… Read more »
April 24
Africa: Sugar in Baby Food - Why Nestlé Needs to Be Held to Account in Africa
Nestlé has been criticised for adding sugar and honey to infant milk and cereal products sold in many poorer countries. The Swiss food giant controls 20% of the baby-food… Read more »
Rwanda: Rwanda's Post-Genocide Model Prioritises Security Over Freedom and Equality - a Risk to Future Stability
Rwanda, a small and landlocked central African country, has made remarkable socio-economic progress since the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 500,000 people died. But the… Read more »
Africa: R21 Anti-Malaria Vaccine Is a Game Changer - Scientist Who Helped Design It Reflects On 30 Years of Research, and What It Promises
Until three years ago nobody had developed a vaccine against any parasitic disease. Now there are two against malaria: the RTS,S and the R21 vaccines. Read more »
Africa: Religion and Covid-19 - Methodists and Church of England Followers More Likely to Have Been Vaccinated Than Muslims and Pentecostals
There are many factors which affect how successfully a vaccine is rolled out. One of these is the public health communication strategy. Surprisingly, a key factor in determining… Read more »
April 23
Africa: Africa's Megacities Threatened By Heat, Floods and Disease
Cities cover just 3% of the planet. But they emit 78% of all global greenhouse gas emissions, absorb 80% of final global energy (what consumers use) and consume 60% of clean… Read more »
Chad: Chad's Election Outcome Already Seems Set - 4 Things Mahamat Déby Has Done to Stay in Power
Chad's presidential election campaigns officially kicked off on Sunday 14 April 2024 in the capital city, N'Djamena. Read more »
South Africa: Johannesburg in a Time of Darkness - Ivan Vladislavić's New Memoir Reminds Us of the City's Fragility
Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburg's literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later… Read more »
South Africa: History for Sale - What Does South Africa's Struggle Heritage Mean After 30 Years of Democracy?
One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening… Read more »
Sudan: Civil War Stretches Into a Second Year With No End in Sight
In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - a Sudanese paramilitary force - attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops… Read more »
April 22
Africa: Two New Malaria Vaccines Are Being Rolled Out Across Africa - How They Work and What They Promise
Malaria incidents are on the rise. There were 249 million cases of this parasitic disease in 2022, five million more than in 2021. Africa suffers more than any other region from… Read more »
South Africa: Meerkat - the South African Radio Telescope That's Transformed Our Understanding of the Cosmos
South Africa's Karoo region is a vast semi-arid area that stretches across four of the country's provinces. It is sparsely populated and renowned for its wide open spaces. Read more »
South Africa: Academics With Disabilities - South African Universities Need an Overhaul to Make Them Genuinely Inclusive
Very little research has been conducted about academics with disabilities working in South African universities. This means their stories, and the challenges they face in the daily… Read more »
Africa: Planting Trees in Grasslands Won't Save the Planet - Rather Protect and Restore Forests
Tree planting is one of the nature-based solutions being used to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Trees absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. Many of these tree planting projects… Read more »
Africa: Sex Differences Don't Disappear As a Country's Equality Develops - Sometimes They Become Stronger
The more gender equal a society is, the more similar men and women will be, adopting more similar interests, personality traits and behavioural patterns. Or so many people seem to… Read more »
April 21
South Africa: Esther Mahlangu - How the Famous South African Artist Keeps Her Ndebele Culture Alive
Esther Mahlangu is having a retrospective of her world famous art in Cape Town. Now 88, the South African visual artist is best known for her colourful large-scale murals in the… Read more »
Nigeria: Lagos' Slum Dwellers Are Excluded From Decisions That Affect Them. 3 Ways to Change That
Lagos is a city of two halves: money dripping in the corridors of corporate offices, and stagnant water dripping in the slums that are home to over 20 million. Residents of… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Security Forces Once Brutally Entrenched Apartheid. It's Been a Rocky Road to Reform
One of the important tasks that faced South Africa's democratic government after 1994 was to reform the apartheid-era security apparatus. Read more »
Seychelles: Blue Whales - First Discovery Near Seychelles in Decades - What Our Study Found
Blue whales are fascinating animals. At 24-30 metres in length (longer than a basketball court) they are the largest creatures on Earth. They are also among the rarest. Estimates… Read more »