July 18, 2022
Africa: Citing Blogs in Academic Publications - Lessons From Urban Planning in Covid
Blogs are a double-edged sword. These online essays can be produced by anyone with access to a computer and the internet. The writers could be well-informed experts with valuable… Read more »
July 17, 2022
Ghana: Ghana's Return to the IMF Within Three Years Underscores Its Deeper Economic Problems
Ghana is again seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to enable the country to meet its payments to the rest of the world and restore the health of… Read more »
South Africa: Technology and Home Visits Can Help South Africans With Diabetes Cope With Insulin
Approximately 4.5 million South Africans have type 2 diabetes - a condition characterised by high levels of sugar in the blood. It can be treated with drugs and managed through… Read more »
July 15, 2022
Africa: Is Monkeypox a Pandemic? An Epidemiologist Explains Why It Isn't Likely to Become As Widespread As Covid-19, But Is Worth Watching
Monkeypox is the latest global public health threat to make headlines. Most people who contract the monkeypox virus experience flu-like symptoms and a blistery rash that lasts two… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's Election Promises - an Economist's Perspective
Kenya has four presidential candidates in the August 2022 general election. They recently launched their manifestos and one thing ties them together: the economy. Read more »
July 14, 2022
South Africa: 'Walk Straight' - How Small-Town Residents Navigate Without Street Signs and Names
Linguistic landscape is the study of languages used in signs. As most of the field's pioneering studies were based on cities, research comes to be associated with cityscapes. Read more »
South Africa: Amazing Ting - Sorghum Must Be Reinvigorated As a Key Food Before It's Lost
The world's food systems have developed in a way that is not serving health and sustainability. Read more »
Nigeria: 100 Years of Popular Music in Nigeria - What Shaped Four Eras
The global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020 shut down nearly all physical and social human activities. For musical practice this meant near death.… Read more »
South Africa: Carbon Monoxide - What Is It and Why Is It Deadly?
Many of us are familiar with the typical results of burning fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil. The reaction produces heat which we harness to warm our homes, heat water and… Read more »
July 13, 2022
Africa: You Really Can Die of Sadness - and Also Happiness
Dying of a broken heart was just a figure of speech until 2002 when Dr Hikaru Sato and colleagues at Hiroshima City Hospital described it in a study. Sato named the condition… Read more »
Africa: How BRICS' New Development Bank Can Improve Transparency and Accountability
The New Development Bank, which was formed in July 2014, marks its eighth birthday this year. It was formed by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS)… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Six Ways to Improve HIV Prevention Pill Uptake Among Young Women
Adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa have a very high risk of acquiring HIV. The latest global AIDS update report suggests that a staggering six out of seven new… Read more »
Africa: New Book Challenges Whiteness - A Review Through the Cover Image
The cover of The Routledge Handbook of Critical Studies in Whiteness carries a striking image courtesy of South African artist Norman Catherine. The image was created in 2015 as… Read more »
July 12, 2022
South Africa: Country Could Produce a Lot More Renewable Energy - Here's What It Needs
South Africa's power utility, Eskom, has not been able to provide a steady electricity supply for several years now. At the start of the 2022 winter the utility warned the public… Read more »
South Africa: Zondo Commission's Report On Intelligence Agency Is Important but Flawed
South Africa's judicial probe into state capture and corruption, the Zondo Commission, has concluded that the State Security Agency was integral to the capture of the state by… Read more »
Africa: Africa Is a Treasure Trove of Medicinal Plants - Here Are Seven That Are Popular
Plants have directly contributed to the development of important drugs. The antimalarial treatment artemisinin, pain medication morphine, and cancer chemotherapy taxol are just… Read more »
West Africa: Herder-Farmer Conflict in the Sahel Needs a New Description - Why 'Eco-Violence' Fits
The Sahel - a 5,000km long strip of the African continent stretching from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea - has become the most neglected and conflict-ridden part of the planet.… Read more »
Africa: US Abortion Restrictions Are Unlikely to Influence International Trends, Which Are Largely Becoming More Liberal
The Supreme Court's June 24, 2022, ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade is already having profound effects across the United States, from Florida to Wisconsin. And the ruling also… Read more »
Africa: What Does It Mean to Be a 'Person'? Different Cultures Have Different Answers
Opponents and proponents of abortion rights often frame their positions in terms of two fundamental values: "life" or "choice." Read more »
July 11, 2022
Africa: Climate Change Is White Colonisation of the Atmosphere. It's Time to Tackle This Entrenched Racism
"Climate change is racist". So reads the title of a recent book by British journalist Jeremy Williams. While this title might seem provocative, it's long been recognised that… Read more »
Africa: Space Agriculture Boldly Grows Food Where No One Has Grown Before
Whether to spend money on outer space exploration or to apply it to solve serious problems on Earth, like climate change and food shortages, is a contentious debate. But one… Read more »
South Africa: Caracals Are Exposed to Harmful 'Forever Chemicals' Through Their Diet
If you live near or have visited Cape Town's urban edge - where urban and natural areas meet - you may have been lucky enough to spot a caracal. These adaptable, medium-sized wild… Read more »
Africa: Covid Vaccines and Pregnancy - A Review of the Evidence Shows They Are Safe
COVID vaccines have been contentious ever since they were developed in response to the coronavirus pandemic, though the evidence is that they are safe and effective. One of the… Read more »
South Africa: A Referendum On Electoral Reform Might Stir Up Trouble
After 28 years of democracy, South Africa is having to reform its political party-based electoral system to make it fairer and in line with the constitution, by allowing… Read more »
Ethiopia: Why Factory Jobs for Women Haven't Translated Into Greater Participation in Politics
Until the war in Tigray started in November 2020, Ethiopia was a favoured investment destination. It had experienced strong economic growth for the previous decade. Read more »