June 09, 2023
Africa: UK Ivory Trade Ban Extended to Five More Species - Here's Why We Think It Will Be Ineffective
The loss of nature is one of the many environmental crises facing our planet. And a key challenge in addressing this is halting the poaching and trafficking of wildlife, which is… Read more »
South Africa: Drinking Water Quality Has Dropped Because of Defective Infrastructure and Neglect - New Report
A report released by the South African government paints a grim picture of the country's water resources and water infrastructure as well as the overall quality of its drinking… Read more »
Kenya: New Spy Chief Will Lead the National Intelligence Service - What the Job Is All About
Kenya's President William Ruto recently nominated a new national intelligence chief. Breaking with tradition, the president picked a career intelligence officer, Noordin Haji. Read more »
South Africa: Should I Get the Flu Vaccine? South African Experts Say Yes - Here's Why
The winter months are synonymous with the flu in South Africa. Similar to other countries in the southern hemisphere, South Africa has an annual influenza season stretching from… Read more »
June 08, 2023
Kenya: Kenya's Opposition Wants to Split Up the Country - but Secession Calls Seldom Succeed
Kenya's opposition politicians recently called for secession - which is the withdrawal of territory and sovereignty from part of an existing state to create a new state. Led by… Read more »
Sudan: Sudan Conflict - How China and Russia Are Involved and the Differences Between Them
As clashes continue between the Sudanese military and rapid support forces, the current and historic role of foreign governments in Sudanese affairs is under close examination. Read more »
South Africa: Sex, Money and Love - What South African University Students Say About Romance and Dating in a Material Age
Transactional sex - the exchange of consensual sex for material support like gifts, money or food - occurs on university campuses in many parts of the world. Read more »
Chad: Chad On the Brink - How the War in Sudan Hurts Its Fragile Neighbour
Since the 15 April outbreak of hostilities in Sudan, the civilian population has been bearing the brunt. Read more »
Ghana: Ghana's Informal Mining Harms Health and the Land - but Reforms Must Work With People, Not Against Them
Artisanal small-scale mining has been practised in Ghana for over a century. In 2018, small-scale miners generated 2.1 million ounces of gold, accounting for 43.1% of total gold… Read more »
June 07, 2023
Ghana: Ama Ata Aidoo - the Pioneering Writer From Ghana Left Behind a String of Feminist Classics
Prolific author and former Ghanaian education minister Ama Ata Aidoo passed away on 31 May 2023 at the age of 81. News of her death reverberated around the world, proof of her… Read more »
South Africa: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome - Facial Modelling Study Explores Technology to Aid Diagnosis
Foetal alcohol syndrome is a lifelong condition caused by exposing an unborn baby to alcohol. It's a pattern of mental, physical and behavioural symptoms seen in some people whose… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Power Crisis Will Continue Until 2025 - and Blackouts Will Take 5 Years to Phase Out
South Africa is in the middle of a severe electricity crisis, with enforced power cuts that have worsened every year. Electricity is sometimes unavailable for 10 hours a day. The… Read more »
Africa: Covid Has Highlighted the Connection Between Spirituality and Vaccine Scepticism
In the two and a half years since the first COVID vaccines were administered, anti-vaccination sentiment has grown exponentially. Scepticism about vaccines has been voiced, in… Read more »
June 06, 2023
East Africa: War in Sudan Puts South Sudan in Danger Too
Twelve years after independence, South Sudan remains extremely poor and underdeveloped. A peace deal brokered in 2018 has failed to end conflict. And the government has failed to… Read more »
South Africa: Learning to Read Is a Journey - a Study Identifies Where South African Kids Go Off Track
Any parent who has watched a child learning to read knows that it is a journey. Various skills and processes must come together and build "brick by brick" before a child can read a… Read more »
Africa: Nearly 20% of Cultural Differences Between Societies Boil Down to Ecological Factors - New Research
In some parts of the world, the rules are strict; in others they are far more lax. In some places, people are likely to plan for the future, while in others people are more likely… Read more »
Africa: China's Population Grew Older and Richer - Policy Lessons for Some African Countries
For decades China was the world's most populous country. But that's changed. Its population has peaked, and is now falling. Read more »
June 05, 2023
Nigeria: Hepatitis B Is a Life-Threatening Liver Infection - Our Machine Learning Tool Could Help With Early Detection
More than 296 million people worldwide live with hepatitis B, a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Most don't know they are… Read more »
West Africa: Census Data in West Africa Is Badly Out of Date - 5 Reasons Fresh Population Statistics Are Crucial
West Africa, an area composed of 16 countries, is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. The region has a population of over 350 million, a five-fold increase since 1950… Read more »
South Africa: Farming Is Being Hobbled By Power Cuts and Poor Roads
South Africa's agriculture has had great consecutive seasons since 2019/20. The sector's gross value added grew by 14.9% in 2020, 8.8% in 2021 and modestly by 0.3% in 2022 . This… Read more »
Sudan: Sudan's War Is Wrecking a Lot, Including Its Central Bank - a Legacy of Trailblazing African American Economist and Banker Andrew Brimmer
The war in Sudan between two rival generals for control of the country is devastating in so many ways. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, thousands injured and more than 1… Read more »
Africa: The World's First Flowers Were Pollinated By Insects
Plants existed on Earth for hundreds of millions of years before the first flowers bloomed. But when flowering plants did evolve, more than 140 million years ago, they were a huge… Read more »
South Africa: Major New Research Claims Smaller-Brained Homo Naledi Made Rock Art and Buried the Dead. but the Evidence Is Lacking
On September 13 2013, speleologists Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker descended deep into South Africa's Rising Star cave system and discovered the first evidence of an extraordinary… Read more »
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Musicians Fled the Country After the 1974 Revolution - How Their Culture Lives On
The overthrow of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 led to violent conflict that had a particularly heavy impact on musicians. Sing and Sing On: Sentinel Musicians and the… Read more »
Nigeria: 'Peter Pan' Enahoro, Nigerian Journalist and Publisher, Was Not Afraid to Speak His Mind
There are some people whose lives intersect with yours even if you never meet them in the flesh. One of these was Peter Osajele Aizegbeobor Enahoro, the Nigerian journalist who was… Read more »