November 27, 2023
Zimbabwe: John Hlatywayo - Remembering a Great Artist Who Was Woefully Neglected By History
John Hlatywayo, who has died at 96, was a great painter, sculptor and mentor. However he is woefully neglected in the art history of Zimbabwe and southern Africa. Read more »
Africa: Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise for Treating Multiple Sclerosis - New Study
Over 2 million people globally have multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that affects the nervous system and can lead to problems moving, seeing and thinking. Read more »
November 26, 2023
Africa: How Worried Should We Be About the Pneumonia Outbreak in China?
Reports of a surge in pneumonia-like illness primarily affecting children in northern China have captured our attention. The last time we heard about a mysterious respiratory… Read more »
Ethiopia: What Is Federalism? Why Ethiopia Uses This System of Government and Why It's Not Perfect
Federalism is a system of government where power is shared between a central authority and smaller regional governments. Read more »
November 24, 2023
Rwanda: UK's Failed Asylum Deportation Plan Puts Rwanda's Human Rights and Refugee Struggles in the Spotlight
The UK Supreme Court ruled on 15 November 2023 that sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. The plan would have seen tens of thousands of asylum seekers sent from the UK to… Read more »
Southern Africa: Southern African Troops Versus M23 Rebels in the DRC - 4 Risks This Poses
The security situation in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to deteriorate. The region comprises North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri provinces.… Read more »
Africa: The Way a Sperm Tail Moves Can Be Explained By Mathematics Worked Out By Alan Turing
Alan Turing might be best known for his work helping to crack Germany's "Enigma" communications code during the second world war. But he also came up with a theory where patterns… Read more »
November 23, 2023
South Africa: Immigration Proposals Are Based On False Claims and Poor Logic - Experts
The South African government recently issued a long-awaited policy statement - called a White Paper - outlining proposed changes to the country's asylum and immigration system.… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria Can Defeat Banditry By Reconstructing the Police System - Criminologist
Security in Nigeria has degenerated in the last 10 years. Various non-state armed groups have emerged countrywide. Read more »
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Education System Is in Crisis - Now's the Time to Fix It
In October 2023, Ethiopia's minister of education, Berhanu Nega, disclosed several shocking figures on the outcomes of the 12th-grade national examination. Of the 3,106 schools… Read more »
Kenya: If Kenya Wants to Help Haiti, It Should Push for Colonial Reparations Not Send in the Police
As the security situation in Haiti deteriorates, Kenya has offered to lead a new sort of UN mission to the country from 2024. In early October, the UN Security Council authorised a… Read more »
South Africa: 12-Year-Old Programme Offers Insights for Countries Moving to Cleaner Power Sources
There are many unknowns about how societies will manage the climate transition. And the associated energy transition from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable energy. Read more »
Africa: Drug Resistance May Make Common Infections Like Thrush Untreatable
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest global threats to health, food security and development. This month, The Conversation's experts explore how we got here and the… Read more »
November 22, 2023
Ghana: Patients' Beliefs About Illness Matter - The Case of Elephantiasis in Rural Ghana
Would you take medication for an illness you didn't believe you had? Or if you disagreed with healthcare workers about the cause of your condition? Read more »
South Africa: South African Politicians Vs Judges - New Book Defends the Constitution
In 1994, South Africa became a democracy founded on a supreme constitution. The constitution's preamble affirms the nation's quest to Read more »
November 21, 2023
Africa: Groundbreaking Malaria Vaccines Developed, but Challenges Remain
The approval of two malaria vaccines - the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine in 2021 and the R21/Matrix-MTM vaccine in 2023 - will help control, and eventually help eradicate, a disease that… Read more »
Ghana: Akosombo Dam Disaster Reveals a History of Negligence That Continues to This Day
Recent heavy downpours in the Lower Volta area of Ghana led to the worst flooding in the region's history. The flooding was caused by a spillage (a deliberate release of water)… Read more »
South Africa: A Free Messaging App Seemed Useful for Disadvantaged South African Students
South African higher education is plagued by inequalities due to the social and economic legacies of apartheid. Read more »
Africa: No Compelling Evidence That Air Purifiers Prevent Respiratory Infections - New Study
The COVID pandemic led to many calls for improved indoor air quality with claims that doing so would reduce the risk of the virus spreading. But the real-world evidence to support… Read more »
Africa: How Do Viruses Get Into Cells? Their Infection Tactics Determine Whether They Can Jump Species or Set Off a Pandemic
COVID-19, flu, mpox, noroviral diarrhea: How do the viruses that cause these diseases actually infect you? Read more »
November 20, 2023
Africa: Antibiotic Resistance Causes More Deaths Than Malaria and HIV/Aids Combined
Each year antimicrobial resistance - the ability of microbes to survive agents designed to kill them - claims more lives than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. Africa bears the brunt… Read more »
Africa: Early Births - Between 34 and 37 Weeks - for Moms With Pre-Eclampsia Can Reduce Baby and Mother Deaths
About half a million babies die each year as a result of pre-eclampsia, an aggressive and potentially life-threatening problem in pregnancy. Approximately 46,000 women also die… Read more »
Libya: Libyan Desert's Yellow Glass - How We Discovered the Origin of These Rare and Mysterious Shards
The Great Sand Sea Desert stretches over an area of 72,000km2 linking Egypt and Libya. If you find yourself in a particular part of the desert in south-east Libya and south-western… Read more »
November 19, 2023
South Africa: South African University Students Use AI to Help Them Understand - Not to Avoid Work
When ChatGPT was released in November 2022, it sparked many conversations and moral panics. These centre on the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the information… Read more »
Kenya: How to Reverse Kenya's Stock Market Losses
Kenya's stock market recently suffered steep losses, making it the worst performing globally. The weak performance has persisted: the Nairobi Securities Exchange 20-share index… Read more »