March 06
Ghana: African Games 2024 - Is It Really Worth It for Ghana to Host the Mega Sport Event?
The African Games, formerly the All-African Games, is taking place from 8-23 March in Ghana. Scheduled for 2023, they were postponed due to a regional impasse over marketing… Read more »
March 05
Africa: The African Union Is Weak Because Its Members Want It That Way - Experts Call for Action On Its Powers
The African Union (AU) comes in for a lot of criticism. Most recently this is from within its own ranks. The AU Commission chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, set out his… Read more »
South Africa: These Tiny Worm-Like Creatures in the Soil Can Destroy Pests but They Can Also Kill Crops
Whether you're a gardener growing food for your household, a small scale farmer or a commercial producer, soil matters. You cannot really tell the difference between healthy and… Read more »
South Sudan: Crisis in Abyei - South Sudan Must Act and Stop Violence Between Dinka Groups
Abyei - a territory roughly the size of Jamaica - is being contested by two countries, Sudan and South Sudan. Abyei, which covers just over 10,000km², is under special… Read more »
Africa: Drought Hits Southern Africa's Farmers, Putting Key Maize Supplies At Risk - How to Blunt the Impact
South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have recently published reports indicating a potential decline in grain harvest because of intense El Niño-induced dryness. These… Read more »
March 04
Africa: Cost-of-Living Crisis - Experts Share 3 Survival Tips
The price increases for essential goods such as food, petrol and household utilities are a global concern, but the region most hurt by the surge in food prices is sub-Saharan… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Has More Than 4 Million People Living With Diabetes - Study Shows Many Aren't Getting Proper Treatment
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects how the body turns food into energy. Read more »
Kenya: Kenyans Use Humour to Counter Unpopular State Policies - Memes Are the Latest Tool
Seemingly disillusioned with the country's leadership, Kenyans have taken to new ways of expressing their anger and frustration with their government. Read more »
Africa: Daily Fibre Supplement Improves Older Adults' Brain Function in Just Three Months - New Study
In just 12 weeks, a daily fibre supplement improved brain function in twins over the age of 65. Could the microbes in our gut hold the key to preventing cognitive decline in our… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: Congo Style - How Two Dictators Shaped the DRC's Art, Architecture and Monuments
What kind of art is left behind by totalitarian regimes? A new free-to-read book called Congo Style: From Belgian Art Nouveau to African Independence explores the visual culture,… Read more »
Africa: Ultra-Processed Foods - Largest Ever Review Shows Many Ill Effects On Health - How to Understand the Evidence
Ultra-processed foods, such as cereals and fizzy drinks, have been linked to 32 harmful health effects, according to the largest review of the evidence to date. Read more »
March 03
Uganda: Bobi Wine - The Documentary Up for Oscar 2024
This year, all the Oscar nominees for best documentary feature come from outside of the United States. Read more »
South Africa: Big Companies, Like Nestlé, Are Funding Health Research in South Africa - Why This Is Wrong
In 2021, the director of the African Research University Alliance Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of Pretoria was appointed to the board of the… Read more »
March 02
Tanzania: Ali Hassan Mwinyi - the Tanzanian Former President Who Oversaw the Transition to Market Economy
Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania's second president who has died aged 98, pushed through tough economic and political reforms that transformed the East Africa nation from socialism to… Read more »
March 01
Africa: Wild Solitary Bees Offer a Vital Pollination Service - but Their Nutritional Needs Aren't Understood
As I walk around the supermarket, I pick up vegetables for tomorrow's dinner, eggs and bread for tonight and some sweet treats for the week. By choosing a range of different food… Read more »
Africa: Measles Is One of the Deadliest and Most Contagious Infectious Diseases - and One of the Most Easily Preventable
"You don't count your children until the measles has passed." Dr. Samuel Katz, one of the pioneers of the first measles vaccine in the late 1950s to early 1960s, regularly heard… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's Had Unusually Hot Weather - an Expert Unpacks What Could Be Causing It
In early 2024 most parts of Kenya, including Nairobi, experienced unusually high temperatures. The World Meteorological Organisation described the hot weather as a global… Read more »
Ghana: Ghana's New Anti-Homosexuality Bill Violates Everyone's Rights, Not Just LGBTIQ+ People - Expert
Ghana's new anti-homosexuality bill infringes several rights and freedoms, not only of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) people but of heterosexuals… Read more »
Africa: Covid-19 Rapid Tests Still Work Against New Variants - Researchers Keep 'Testing the Tests,' and They Pass
By September 2020, just six months after COVID-19 triggered shutdowns across the U.S., it was clear that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had mutated from its original… Read more »
February 29
Ghana: Can Contract Farming Help Smallholder Farmers Build Resilience to Climate Change?
In northern Ghana, many smallholder farmers who grow crops on less than one hectare of land each are entering into contract farming. This gives them guaranteed buyers for their… Read more »
Rwanda: DRC-Rwanda Crisis - What's Needed to Prevent a Regional War
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South African, Burundian and Tanzanian troops are fighting against the Rwandan army, which has deployed in support of the… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Business Students Want Their Own Industry Superheroes and Success Stories in the Syllabus - Study
In the past few years there's been much discussion globally about the need to decolonise education. Decolonisation is the process of undoing the impact of colonial thinking and its… Read more »
Tanzania: Serengeti Migration - Fire and Rain Affect How Zebras, Wildebeest and Gazelles Make the Journey
Tanzania's Serengeti ecosystem is like a time machine. As one of the world's last remaining fully intact grazing ecosystems it provides a glimpse of what others in Australia,… Read more »
Africa: How Teens Benefit From Being Able to Read 'Disturbing' Books That Some Want to Ban
Should we worry, as massive book-banning efforts imply, that young people will be harmed by certain kinds of books? For over a decade and through hundreds of interviews, my… Read more »
Africa: Why and How Often Do I Need to Wash Makeup Brushes and Sponges?
From the bristles of brushes to the porous surfaces of sponges, your makeup kit can harbour a host of bacteria and fungi. Read more »