October 09, 2023
Africa: Climate Hazards Aren't Restricted By Borders - African Countries Have Taken a Big Step to Address This
Climate risks can be complex to deal with because they don't respect country borders. Hazards in one region can have negative repercussions in another. These are known as… Read more »
October 08, 2023
Liberia: Three Things Liberia's Next President Must Do
Liberia, Africa's oldest republic, is about to choose its next president. Read more »
Africa: The Atlantic Ocean's Major Current System Is Slowing Down - but a 21st Century Collapse Is Unlikely
Whether the water at your local beach is being roiled by nasty weather or is a perfectly calm expanse of blue, there's always a great deal going on under the surface. The ocean is… Read more »
South Africa: Surveillance Law Changes but South Africans' Privacy Is Still At Risk
In a ringing judgment for the right to privacy, the South African Constitutional Court declared sections of the country's main communication surveillance law unconstitutional in… Read more »
West Africa: Ecowas Rules to Protect Pastoralists Discourage Investments in Modern Livestock Farming
A common sight around west Africa is to see cattle grazing freely, even in major cities, on highways and in airports. Read more »
October 06, 2023
Zambia: Discovery of Half-a-Million-Year-Old Wooden Structure Shows We're Wrong to Underestimate Our Ancient Relatives
To most people, complex technologies separate modern humans from their ancestors who lived in the Stone Age, thousands or hundreds of thousands of years ago. In today's fast… Read more »
Ghana: Theresa Kufuor - Ghana's Former First Lady Was a Quiet and Unobtrusive Champion of Change
Flags have been flying at half mast in Ghana in tribute to Theresa Kufuor, the wife of John Agyekum Kufuor, president of Ghana from 2000 to 2008. Born Theresa Mensah, the former… Read more »
Africa: 20 Years After the Publication of 'Purple Hibiscus,' a Generation of African Writers Have Followed in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Footsteps
Twenty years ago, in October 2003, 26-year-old Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the North American publishing scene with her debut novel," Purple Hibiscus." Read more »
Africa: Dengue - Why Is This Sometimes Fatal Disease Increasing Around the World?
Something unusual seems to be happening with dengue, a potentially fatal mosquito-borne viral disease found across swathes of tropical Africa, Asia and the Americas. As with most… Read more »
October 05, 2023
Liberia: Medicine or Food? People With Diabetes in Liberia Sometimes Have to Choose Between the Two
Diabetes is on the rise globally. Since the 1980s the number of people living with the disease has quadrupled from 108 million to 537 million. Read more »
Africa: Cautious Welcome - World Bank and IMF Return to Africa, but Questions Remain
The annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are due to take place in Marrakech, Morocco, in mid-October. The city and country are still reeling from… Read more »
South Africa: Jerry Coovadia - the South African Doctor Who Led the Fight Against HIV in Children
South African-born Professor Hoosen "Jerry" Coovadia, renowned academic and prominent anti-apartheid activist, passed away on 4 October. As a paediatrician I was privileged to know… Read more »
South Africa: Fossil Snake Traces - Another World-First Find On South Africa's Cape South Coast
Snakes are familiar, distinctive - and often feared - reptiles. And they've been around for a long time: body fossils found in the UK, Portugal and the US stretch all the way back… Read more »
South Africa: Johannesburg's Water Crisis - New Plan Not Enough
Johannesburg and its surrounds, at the centre of the industrial heartland of South Africa, have been hit by severe water cuts. Water interruptions have been happening for years,… Read more »
October 04, 2023
South Africa: Lion Protection Fee Paid By Tourists Could Help Stop Trophy Hunting - South African Study
Trophy hunting is contentious. It typically involves paying for and pursuing a specific wild animal, often a large or iconic species, with the goal of killing it to obtain a… Read more »
West Africa: Cocoa Prices Surge - West Africa Should Negotiate Better Deal for Farmers
The global price of cocoa is spiking, a direct response to dwindling cocoa output in West Africa. In September, cocoa futures reached a 44-year price peak due to mounting concerns… Read more »
Africa: Teachers Can Nurture Students Who Care About the World - Four Approaches That Would Help Them
Teachers wear many hats. They are expected to be subject matter experts, leaders, administrators, managers, lifelong learners - and not just in the classroom, but in their wider… Read more »
October 03, 2023
Africa: African Thinkers Analyse Some of the Big Issues of Our Time - Race, Belonging and Identity
The subjects of race, identity and belonging are often fraught with contention and uneasiness. Who are you? Who belongs? Who is native, or indigenous to a place? These perennial… Read more »
Africa: 'We Could Eradicate Malaria By 2040' Says Expert After Revolutionary Vaccine Is Approved By WHO
The World Health Organization has approved a new vaccine that scientists argue will be a game-changer in the fight against malaria, which kills half a million people in Africa… Read more »
South Africa: Language Skills Could Improve History Teaching in South Africa
In recent years there's been growing recognition among education experts that integrating content and language learning is key to promoting comprehensive academic achievement. Read more »
Niger: France's Decision to Leave Niger Was a Bad Move - Three Reasons Why
After about two months of wrangling between France and the new military regime in Niger, President Emmanuel Macron finally decided, on 24 September, to withdraw the French… Read more »
Africa: The Long Road to a New Malaria Vaccine, Told By the Scientists Behind the Breakthrough - Podcast
The world has waited decades for a malaria vaccine, and now two have come along in quick succession. On October 2, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that a new… Read more »
October 02, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Blue Economy Ministry to Harness Marine Resources
Nigeria's President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a new ministerial portfolio in August: Marine and Blue Economy. This was welcome news as it renewed hope for economic development… Read more »
Zimbabwe: New Species of Cobra-Like Snake Discovered - but It May Already Be Extinct
Around the world, natural history museums hold a treasure trove of knowledge about Earth's animals. But much of the precious information is sealed off to genetic scientists because… Read more »
Africa: Brush Your Teeth! Bad Oral Hygiene Linked to Cancer, Heart Attacks and Renal Failure
It's normal to have bacteria in your mouth. But harmful bacteria have been linked to a host of health problems. Medical scientist Glenda Davison and microbiologist Yvonne Prince,… Read more »