August 29, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria's Economy - Four Priorities the Next President Must Deliver On
Nigeria is preparing to elect its next president in February 2023. That person will have a daunting task fixing a near comatose economy. Read more »
Africa: Farming and Fertilisers - How Ecological Practices Can Make a Difference
Agriculture involves a difficult balance between food production and environmental impact. For example, fertilisers can help to achieve good crop yields, but over-using them… Read more »
South Africa: Covid Was a Setback for Indigenous Languages - Lecturers On What Went Wrong
South African indigenous languages are among those at risk of a serious decline due to the increasing use of digital technologies. By some estimates only 5% of the world's… Read more »
August 28, 2022
South Africa: Want to Get More Women to Start Their Own Businesses? Here's What It Takes
Globally, men are twice as likely as women to start a business. Most research into how to start a business has been focused on men. Not much has looked at why women are not fully… Read more »
Nigeria: We've Been Tracking Birds in a Small Nigerian Forest for 18 Years. What We Found and Why It Matters
If you live in Europe, you can find almost any statistic you like about the birds in the environment. How many there are of a species, where you find them, whether their population… Read more »
Nigeria: Foreign Banks Are Absent in Nigeria. We Tracked Down Why
Privately owned Nigerian banks hold 94% of Nigerian banking assets. Only one other country in the world - Israel - has a higher share of ownership by local banks. The share of… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Has a Plan to Make Its Public Service Professional. It's Time to Act On It
A professional, efficient and effective public service is key to a government's ability to deliver on its mandate. That's why South Africa's constitution requires that the public… Read more »
August 27, 2022
Angola: Official Result Gives Ruling MPLA Wafer-Thin Win. On the Streets the Outcome Isn't Believed
Angola's elections were, for the first time, a tight race between the governing People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and a coalition led by its historic rival,… Read more »
August 26, 2022
Somalia: Hadraawi - the Most Famed Poet in Somalia, the Land of the Poets
Mohamed Ibrahim Warsame Said, widely known by his childhood nickname Hadraawi, was one of the greatest Somali poets of all time. He was certainly the most famed Somali poet since… Read more »
August 25, 2022
Chad: Govt Making a Huge Effort to Find Peace - Chadians Aren't Convinced It Will Work
The normally quiet airport at the Chadian capital N'Djamena was recently inundated with internationally well-known arrivals. Read more »
Africa: Storing Cattle Feed Can Improve Milk and Meat Yields - Why Farmers Aren't Doing It
Africa's cattle feed production is a boom-and-bust cycle. Most of the continent's grazing lands are lush and green in the rainy season, only to wither into dry scrublands in the… Read more »
South Africa: Women Refugees Fleeing Violence Seek Safety in South Africa - But They Don't Find It
When I ran away from home there was no safety, and when I came to South Africa there is no safety; it's also happening here. Read more »
Africa: Macron in Africa - A Cynical Twist to Repair the Colonial Past While Keeping a Tight Grip
In late July 2022 French president Emmanuel Macron concluded a tour of Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. And he visits Algeria between 25 and 27 August. Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Efforts to Help Victims of Trafficking Are Failing. We Found Out Why
Most countries have anti-trafficking laws, policies and programmes to prevent human trafficking. There are also international treaties to address the problem. Yet it's still… Read more »
August 24, 2022
Chad: Breakthrough Shows Humans Were Standing On Their Own Two Feet 7 Million Years Ago
The study of present-day species has delivered a clear verdict on humanity's place in the living world: right alongside chimpanzees and bonobos. However, this does not tell us much… Read more »
Nigeria: New Universities in Nigeria? Absolutely Not
Public university lecturers in Nigeria have been on strike since 14 February 2022. One of their biggest issues is that the institutions they work for are poorly funded. Despite… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Study Challenges the Idea That Women Are Inherently Close to Nature
In Zimbabwe, it's mainly women who collect and use fuelwood. The more women cut down trees for household energy needs, the longer it takes to find and fetch wood. Women are thus… Read more »
Somalia: Waiting for Ethiopia - Berbera Port Upgrade Raises Somaliland's Hopes for Trade
Berbera port is the main overseas trade gateway of the breakaway Republic of Somaliland. The port city is located on the Gulf of Aden - one of the globally most frequented seaways… Read more »
Africa: Misinformation Is Common to Covid-19 and HIV/Aids Pandemics - With Deadly Consequences
Since health officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases, misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus. Social media may have made the amount, variety and speed of… Read more »
West Africa: Free Movement in West Africa - The Culture of Mobility Matters Despite Challenges
For the last 40 years countries in West Africa have tried to meet their commitment to letting people move more freely between them. This has been driven by the regional body, The… Read more »
Africa: Got Allergies? You Could Be At Lower Risk of Catching Covid
To respond effectively to COVID, it's been important to understand who may be at higher risk of contracting the virus and developing more severe disease. Read more »
South Africa: South African Citrus - New EU Rules Are Unjust and Punitive
In mid-July 2022 the European Union imposed new restrictions on South African citrus imports. The new phytosanitary requirements were meant to address False Codling Moth, a citrus… Read more »
August 23, 2022
Africa: Dolphins Use Signature Whistles to Represent Other Dolphins - Like the Way Humans Use Names
Bottlenose dolphins' signature whistles just passed an important test in animal psychology. A new study by my colleagues and me has shown that these animals may use their whistles… Read more »
Mali: Amid Popular Opposition, Is The UN's Peacekeeping Mission in Mali Doomed?
On 29 June, the UN Security Council decided to renew the mandate of the United Nations' peacekeeping initiative, the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali… Read more »
Africa: #AfricaClimateCrisis Will Cause More Children to Die From Hot Weather
Climate change has already increased global temperatures, greatly increasing extremes. This will continue unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to "net-zero". The 1.5°C… Read more »