June 03
Chad: Chad Is Making Arabic Equal to French in Schools - the Politics Behind the Move
In most multilingual African countries, language policy is a highly charged and controversial issue. It touches on regional identity, religion and political power - as is evident… Read more »
Africa: Tax Data Can Be Mined to Shape Better Policies. South Africa, Uganda and Zambia Show How
Bilateral aid to Africa fell by nearly a quarter in 2025, the largest annual decline in the history of official development assistance. Meanwhile, sovereign debt interest payments… Read more »
June 02
Africa: Europe Is Spending Billions On Deporting Migrants. Why the Strategy Isn't Working
For over a decade, the European Union (EU) has relied on external partnerships to increase the return of migrants who don't have the right to stay in Europe. It has used a growing… Read more »
Guinea Bissau: Why Do Male Chimpanzees Throw Rocks At the Same Trees for More Than a Decade? We Travelled to Remote Guinea-Bissau to Find Out
Walking through the savanna-woodland landscape of Boé National Park, Guinea-Bissau, you might encounter a tree covered in gnarled scars, with an accumulation of rocks… Read more »
Africa: Ebola May Have Spread Beyond Africa. How Are Health Authorities Responding?
The latest Ebola outbreak is showing no signs of slowing. Read more »
Africa: A Lot of 'Recycled' Plastic Is Being Burned Overseas - and Causing Widespread Pollution Linked to Health Problems
Picture a pile of trash the size of Manhattan and taller than one and a half Empire State Buildings. That's how much plastic waste the world is predicted to be generating every… Read more »
Africa: Global Supply Chains Keep Workers Poor - Three Case Studies Show How the Cycle Can Be Broken
Globally, about one in five people in jobs live in poverty. A key reason lies in how global supply chains are organised. From agriculture to tourism, many jobs are embedded in… Read more »
West Africa: Cultural Bias in West Africa's School-Leaver Exam Questions Puts Many Students At a Disadvantage
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) is a high-stakes test. For decades, it has served as the gateway to post-secondary education across five countries:… Read more »
Ethiopia: Ethiopian Communities Are Using Low-Cost Methods to Restore Eroded Land
Nearly a quarter of the land in Ethiopia is degraded. It has lost its quality and can no longer grow crops, support plant life, or hold water as it used to. The causes are mainly… Read more »
June 01
Congo-Kinshasa: Ebola, Hantavirus... How Eroding Global Health Cooperation Could Threaten Worse Crises Ahead
The recent Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks, respectively in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean, remind us that the next health… Read more »
Southern Africa: AI and Journalism in Southern Africa - Editors Are Using It but Balanced With Human Expertise and Editorial Judgement
Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyday newsroom work across Africa. It has entered quietly through routine tasks such as transcription, headline writing,… Read more »
South Africa: Getting Through School in South Africa - How Learners Make It to the End After a Poor Start
South Africa's schooling system presents a striking paradox. Fewer than one in five grade 4 learners can read for meaning, yet more than 60% of young people (aged 15 to 24)… Read more »
Africa: Africa's Climate Crisis Is a Legal Crisis Too - What Are States' Duties Under Human Rights Law?
A landmark climate case is being heard by the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. The request was brought by the Pan African Lawyers Union and other African civil society… Read more »
May 31
Africa: HIV in South Africa - Why Rolling Out a Groundbreaking New Shot Will Miss a Critical Group of Men
The first shipment of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable that prevents HIV with two shots a year, arrived in South Africa from the United States in early April 2026. Clinical… Read more »
May 29
Uganda: What's Wrong With How U.S. and Uganda Plan to Stop Ebola Spreading
As public health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo work to rein in a growing outbreak of a rare Ebola virus, other countries are establishing protocols for keeping their… Read more »
Somalia: Somali Piracy Is Back - Fuelled By Political Turmoil, Aid Cuts and the Iran War
On the evening of April 26, the Egyptian merchant vessel Sward was hijacked by armed men a few miles off the Somali coast. It was steered towards an anchorage near the port of… Read more »
Africa: Why Africa - and the World - Remain Dangerously Unprepared for the Next Pandemic
As the news spread about the outbreak of Ebola in mid-May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report about pandemics. The title was: A World on the Edge:… Read more »
May 28
Namibia: Unearthing Namibia's Forgotten Genocide Through Forensic Archaeology
The Namibian genocide was one of the first genocides of the 20th century. Between 1904 and 1908, tens of thousands of Ovaherero and Nama people were killed under German colonial… Read more »
South Africa: Turtles Finally Have a Place in the Tree of Life - X-Ray Study of South African Fossils Was a Decider
The origin of turtles has always been a bit of a puzzle for scientists who study the evolution of animals. To this day, where they fit in the tree of life remains a highly debated… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Fuel Supply and the Iran War - Data Black Holes and Low Strategic Stock Put the Country At Risk
The supply of crude oil to the world had been reduced by about 7.5% to 10.1% by March 2026 in what the World Bank described as the largest oil market disruption in history. The… Read more »
Africa: Africa At the World Cup - 10 Teams, Local Coaches and Tactical Depth Usher in a New Era
The 2026 men's Fifa World Cup marks a seismic shift in the global football landscape. The decision to expand the final stage of the tournament from 32 teams to 48 has significantly… Read more »
May 27
Ethiopia: Ethiopia Votes - Dominant Ruling Party Seeks a New Mandate in a Deeply Fragmented Nation
Ethiopia's general election on 1 June 2026 will take place amid armed conflicts and political fragmentation. This has raised questions over voter participation and legitimacy and… Read more »
Ethiopia: Should Ethiopia Limit How Long Its Prime Minister Can Serve? Why This Won't Fix a Deeper Democracy Problem
Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed has revived debate over whether the country should impose term limits on its head of government. Speaking before the National Dialogue… Read more »
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Elections Will Not Be Politically Competitive - Two Reasons Why
Ethiopia is preparing for a national election on 1 June amid deep political uncertainty and growing insecurity. Officially, the polls are expected to reinforce the country's… Read more »
Central Africa: Central Africa's Wild Meat Dilemma - Why Outright Bans Threaten Food Security for Millions
Millions of people in central Africa rely on wild meat for their nutrition, especially in rural areas around the Congo rainforest, the second largest tropical rainforest in the… Read more »
