September 18, 2022
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 »
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 »
Africa: Memory Problems During the Pandemic? It's Just Your Brain Trying to Distinguish One Day From the Next
Without a doubt, we are living through a historically significant period. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the global economy, imposed extreme strain on… Read more »
September 16, 2022
Africa: WHO Advised Against the Use of Two Antibody Therapies Against Covid - Here's What That Means
New guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO) strongly advises against using the antibody therapies sotrovimab and casirivimab-imdevimab to treat patients with COVID-19. Read more »
September 15, 2022
Kenya: William Ruto Is Now in Charge of Shaky Economy - Where to Start
Kenya's President William Ruto, sworn in as new President on 13 September 2022, has inherited an economy saddled with debt, inflation, joblessness and national pessimism. The… Read more »
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 »
Africa: We Found the Oldest Ever Vertebrate Fossil Heart. It Tells a 380 Million-Year-Old Story of How Our Bodies Evolved
In the limestone ranges of Western Australia's Kimberley region, near the town of Fitzroy Crossing, you'll find one of the world's best-preserved ancient reef complexes. Read more »
Africa: Viruses May Be 'Watching' You - Some Microbes Lie in Wait Until Their Hosts Unknowingly Give Them the Signal to Start Multiplying and Kill Them
After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, you might picture a virus as a nasty spiked ball - a mindless killer that gets into a cell and hijacks its machinery to create a… 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 »
Africa: Like Genes, Your Gut Microbes Pass From One Generation to the Next
When the first humans moved out of Africa, they carried their gut microbes with them. Turns out, these microbes also evolved along with them. Read more »
Africa: Young People May Be More Likely to Believe in Conspiracy Theories That Deny Covid Facts - Here's How to Respond
The COVID pandemic has been a shock. Practically nobody alive today has previously encountered a virus so contagious that it spreads worldwide, infects at least half a billion… Read more »
Somalia: Somalia On the Brink of Famine - Aid Efforts Risk Failing Marginalised Communities Yet Again
Somalia is facing a humanitarian crisis of enormous severity and magnitude. This follows four failed rainy seasons, protracted conflict, political instability and the impact of… Read more »
September 14, 2022
Africa: Malaria Vaccine - The Road Has Been Long and Tortuous, but We're Getting There
A vaccine candidate, called R21, has been shown to be up to 80% effective at preventing malaria in young children, according to the latest trial results. Read more »
South Africa: Queen Elizabeth, Colonialism and Land - Ghosts of the Past Still Haunt Cape Town Today
British monarch Queen Elizabeth II's passing has elicited many polarised responses, in the process allowing the ghosts of the past to resurface. Read more »
Africa: 17.7 Million Covid-19 Deaths and Counting. Here Are 11 Ways to Stop History Repeating Itself
A global report released today highlights massive global failures in the response to COVID-19. Read more »
Africa: Climate Change Threatens Food but Microscopic Algae Offer Answers
In 2021 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued the first volume of its latest authoritative report on climate change. The United Nations secretary-general branded its… Read more »
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 »
South Africa: Burst Mining Dam - What Must Be Done to Prevent Another Disaster
Jagersfontien, a small town in the middle of South Africa with over a century of mining history, awoke to a tragic failure of responsibility on 11 September 2022 when torrents of… Read more »
September 13, 2022
Africa: Another New Covid Variant Is Spreading - Here's What We Know About Omicron Ba.4.6
BA.4.6, a subvariant of the omicron COVID variant which has been quickly gaining traction in the US, is now confirmed to be spreading in the UK. Read more »
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 »
South Africa: South Africa's Increasing Water Stress Requires Urgent Informed Actions #AfricaClimateCrisis
Progress has been made since 2015 on a global scale in terms of increasing access to water of an acceptable quality and to sanitation services. But 2 billion people still lack… Read more »
Africa: UK-Africa Ties - Future Looks Gloomy Under Liz Truss As Political Myopia Reigns
Britain has a new prime minister in Liz Truss. For African leaders wondering what the new administration might mean for UK-Africa relationships, the view must be pretty gloomy. Read more »
South Africa: Biden and Ramaphosa - Finding Common Ground Amid Divisions At Home and Abroad
US president Joe Biden's invitation to South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa to meet at the White House, and the latter's acceptance, are positive signs of renewed cooperation.… Read more »
South Africa: Obesity Costs South Africa Billions. We Did the Sums
Globally, it is widely acknowledged that obesity-related conditions and their complications add hugely to healthcare costs and productivity losses. In turn this adds a large burden… Read more »