July 31, 2022
South Africa: South Africa Is Trapped Again - What Kind of Leaders Can Set the Country Free?
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki recently painted a gloomy picture of the country and its prospects. He said the governing African National Congress (ANC), led by… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's Election Red Flags in Five Essential Reads
Kenya is no stranger to highly contested elections. Several of the country's past polls have seen high levels of conflict. The violence that broke out after the 2007 elections… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: Protests Against UN in Eastern Congo Highlight Peace Mission's Crisis of Legitimacy
Violent protests erupted in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in late July 2022, resulting in the deaths of at least three peacekeepers and several civilians. Read more »
July 29, 2022
South Africa: Ramaphosa Acts to Ease South Africa's Energy Crisis - Impact Will Be Felt in Renewables
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced an action plan to address the country's growing energy crisis. It included relaxing the legislative and environmental… Read more »
Africa: Climate Change Is Intensifying the Water Cycle, Bringing More Powerful Storms and Flooding - Here's What the Science Shows
Powerful storm systems triggered flash flooding across the U.S. in late July, killing at least 28 people in eastern Kentucky as floodwater engulfed homes and set off mudslides.… Read more »
July 28, 2022
Africa: Women Entrepreneurs in Africa Face More Climate Risks Than Their Male Peers
The world's climate is changing. All of us will ultimately be affected by climatic shifts - but some will be hit harder than others. Read more »
South Africa: What the U.S. Can Learn From Apartheid-Era Book Bans in South Africa
"Beloved." "The Hate U Give." "Maus." "Burger's Daughter." Read more »
South Africa: Shining Fluorescent Light On Bee Sperm Could Help Explain Colony Survival
Form follows function. This is the principle that the design or shape of something - whether made by humans or in nature - should serve a purpose. Read more »
South Africa: Oil Refinery Closures, Cleaner Fuels and Security of Supply in South Africa
While South Africa has been preoccupied with rolling electricity blackouts, security of liquid fuels supply has been overlooked even though - by my calculations - by value of sales… Read more »
Zambia: Zambia Can Meet Growing Food Demand - How to Fix What's Standing in Its Way
African countries face great challenges in adapting to climate change to meet growing demand for food. The current drought in East Africa is the latest manifestation of changing… Read more »
Africa: Food and Drinks Are Getting Sweeter. Even If It's Not All Sugar, It's Bad for Our Health
Humans have an evolutionary preference for sweetness. Sweet foods, like fruit and honey, were an important energy source for our ancestors. Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: The UN Is Under Attack in Eastern Congo. but DRC Elites Are Also to Blame for the Violence
Demonstrators in the volatile eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have called for the immediate withdrawal of the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Recent… Read more »
Africa: Western Countries Are Shipping Refugees to Poorer Nations in Exchange for Cash
The U.K. government was due to begin its first deportation flight to remove asylum-seekers to the East African country of Rwanda on June 14, 2022, exactly two months after signing… Read more »
Africa: School Feeding Programmes Are Great Value for Money
Hundreds of millions of children worldwide attend class every day. With such a wide reach, schools can effectively deliver a vast array of interventions such as immunisations and… Read more »
July 27, 2022
Zimbabwe: Inflation Is Spiking (Again). Why High Interest Rates Aren't the Answer
The central bank of Zimbabwe has raised its benchmark rate from 80% to a fresh record of 200%. This increase comes as Russia's invasion of Ukraine is driving global commodity… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: How Conflicts Intertwined Over Time and Destabilised the DRC - and the Region
The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the deadliest the world has ever witnessed. One report estimates the death toll at 5.4 million while a more… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: Belgium Is Reviewing Its Colonial Past in the DRC - It's a Sensitive but Necessary Process
The year 2022 is shaping up to be a critical period for the troubled relationship between Kinshasa and Brussels. Read more »
Ghana: How Costly Political Realities Undercut Electricity Reforms
Ghana reformed its electricity sector by the book but has lurched from blackouts between 2012 and 2015 to a glut of energy which costs government about 5% of GDP. Fitch ranks the… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Noviolet Bulawayo's New Novel Is an Instant Zimbabwean Classic
In Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo's new novel Glory - longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022 - animals take on human characteristics. Through this she explores what happens when… Read more »
Africa: Nature Is the World's Original Pharmacy - Returning to Medicine's Roots Could Help Fill Drug Discovery Gaps
While humans evolved over a period of approximately 6 million years, breakthroughs in modern medicine as we know it today got going only in the 19th and 20th centuries. So how did… Read more »
Africa: New Covid Variants May Be More Transmissible but That Doesn't Mean the Basic Reproduction Number Has Increased
During the pandemic we have all become familiar with a lot of epidemiological concepts. Read more »
July 26, 2022
Nigeria: Facial Injuries Hurt Nigerians' Pockets Too - How to Reduce the Burden
Injury to the face - from road traffic accidents, for example - can leave a person with a damaged appearance or functional impairment, like difficulty chewing. Treatment helps to… Read more »
Nigeria: Why the Hijab Controversy Persists in Nigeria's Public Schools
Hijab use in Nigeria's public schools has become highly controversial, in some cases leading to riots, fatalities, the destruction of school property and the closure of schools.… Read more »
Africa: How the Omicron Subvariant BA.5 Became a Master of Disguise
The omicron subvariant known as BA.5 was first detected in South Africa in February 2022 and spread rapidly throughout the world. As of the second week of July 2022, BA.5… Read more »
Africa: Why Declaring Monkeypox a Global Health Emergency Is a Preventative Step - Not a Reason for Panic
Countries that are members of the United Nations are obligated to report cases of unusual diseases that have the potential to become global health threats. In May 2022, more than a… Read more »