February 28
Africa: Understanding How the Brain Works Can Transform How School Students Learn Maths
School mathematics teaching is stuck in the past. An adult revisiting the school that they attended as a child would see only superficial changes from what they experienced… Read more »
Africa: Mounting Research Shows That Covid-19 Leaves Its Mark On the Brain, Including With Significant Drops in IQ Scores
From the very early days of the pandemic, brain fog emerged as a significant health condition that many experience after COVID-19. Read more »
Africa: The True Cost of Food Is Far Higher Than What You Spend At the Checkout Counter
After several years of pandemic-driven price spikes at the grocery store, retail food price inflation is slowing down. That's good news for consumers, especially those in… Read more »
Ghana: Street Vending Helps Migrants to Survive in Accra, but It's Illegal
Moving to the city is a common strategy for the rural poor in the global south. Economic hardship pushes individuals out of their rural communities in search of opportunities.… Read more »
Africa: Alarming Africa-Wide Report Predicts 30% Drop in Crop Revenue, 50 Million Without Water
African countries will suffer significant economic loss after 2050 if global warming is not limited to below 2°C, a new study by the Center for Global Development has found. Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Security Problems Deepen As Anglophone Insurgency in Cameroon Spills Across Border
Over the past two decades, Nigeria has grappled with multiple and complex national security threats, each posing a significant challenge to its stability. Read more »
Somalia: Why Turkey Is Helping Somalia Defend Its Waters
Somalia and Turkey recently announced that they would expand the terms of a defence agreement first signed on 8 February 2024 to include the maritime sector. This came as tensions… Read more »
South Africa: It Took 16 Years but South Africa Has Impeached a Senior Judge
Former Western Cape judge president John Mandlakayise Hlophe has become one of the first two members of South Africa's judiciary to be impeached since the country became a… Read more »
Africa: Why Developing Countries Must Unite to Protect the WTO's Dispute Settlement System
The World Trade Organisation's dispute settlement mechanism has, for decades, provided stability and predictability to the resolution of disputes between member countries. As… Read more »
February 27
South Africa: Expert Explains Why the Taps Keep Running Dry in South Africa's Biggest City
Since the latter part of 2023 hardly a week has gone by without some residents of Johannesburg, South Africa's commercial capital, losing their water supply. Notices of planned… Read more »
Africa: Africa Needs China for Its Digital Development - but At What Price?
Digital technologies have many potential benefits for people in African countries. They can support the delivery of healthcare services, promote access to education and lifelong… Read more »
Cameroon: Benefits of Using Cleaner Cooking Fuels Are Blunted in Urban Areas Where Outdoor Air Is Polluted
Household air pollution from cooking, heating and lighting with fuels like wood, charcoal and kerosene poses a substantial global health problem. Read more »
February 26
East Africa: Rare Megamouth Shark Found in East Africa for the First Time - Why So Little Is Known About It
A rarely seen megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) was recently spotted in east Africa for the very first time. It was recorded in a market in Zanzibar, where it was being sold… Read more »
Mozambique: Mozambique's Unstable and Expensive Power Supply Is Devastating Small Businesses
Inside a small bakery in Maputo, the morning's batch of 150 loaves of bread has just gone into the oven. But there's a problem: the electricity has gone out without warning for the… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Apartheid Legacy Is Still Hobbling Research - a Study of Geography Shows How
Knowledge matters. It informs how we think about the world around us. It informs our decisions and government policies, supporting economic growth and development. Read more »
February 24
Nigeria: Nigeria's Ban On Alcohol Sold in Small Sachets Will Help Tackle Underage Drinking
On February 5, 2024, Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control announced a ban on alcoholic beverages sold in sachets or bottles less than 200ml. The… Read more »
South Africa: Pregnant Women in South Africa Should Be Offered Social Grants - It'll Save the State Money in the Long Run
A baby's first 1,000 days, from the time of conception until their second birthday, is a crucial window of opportunity to optimise their potential - through healthy nutrition for… Read more »
February 23
Africa: Early Covid-19 Research Is Riddled With Poor Methods and Low-Quality Results - a Problem for Science the Pandemic Worsened but Didn't Create
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers flooded journals with studies about the then-novel coronavirus. Many publications streamlined the peer-review process for COVID-19… Read more »
Africa: Slouching Isn't As Bad for You As You Might Think
Often a posture assigned to teenagers and disaffected youth, slouching is traditionally considered to be a "bad" posture - with some claiming it will damage your spine and cause… Read more »
February 22
Africa: Africa's Debt Crisis Needs a Bold New Approach - Expert
It hasn't been easy for African states to finance their developmental and environmental policy objectives over the past few years. Read more »
South Africa: Kalahari Weaver Birds Lay Bigger Eggs When They Have Female Helpers to Feed Nestlings
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a protected nature reserve at the southern edge of the Kalahari desert in South Africa's Northern Cape province. It's an arid area with high daytime… Read more »
Africa: Learning in Two Languages - Lessons From Francophone Africa On What Works Best
Children living in multilingual communities often learn in a language at school that does not match the language they speak at home. This mismatch makes it challenging for them to… Read more »
Africa: Expert Shares 5 Ways Africa's Coastal Residents Predict Floods
In the Lapai Gwari community of Niger state, north central Nigeria, elders predict the weather by observing a large stone in the Chachanga River. The LapanGwagwan stone serves as a… Read more »
South Africa: Protecting Your Image Online Is the Key to Fighting Them
Leanne Manas is a familiar face on South African televisions. Towards the end of 2023 the morning news presenter's face showed up somewhere else: in bogus news stories and fake… Read more »
February 21
Africa: Outrage Culture Is a Big, Toxic Problem. Why Do We Take Part? and How Can We Stop?
"Outrage culture" is pervasive in the digital age. It refers to our collective tendency to react, often with intense negativity, to developments around us. Read more »