October 24, 2022
Africa: From Water Conservation to Crop Selection, How Farmers CAN Take Action Against Drought #AfricaClimateHope
As climate change accelerates, many countries around the world are increasingly facing the risk of drought. Water scarcity has become one of the major constraints of food… Read more »
Africa: Growing Plants On Buildings Can Reduce Heat, Produce Healthy Food in Cities
Persistently high temperatures and related heat stress are a big problem for people living in cities, especially in slums and informal settlements. It's a problem that is expected… Read more »
Ghana: Christian Nationalism Poses a Threat to Human Rights in Ghana
Ghana is a religious country. According to the 2021 census, about 71% of the population is Christian and 18% Muslim. Followers of indigenous or animistic religious beliefs make up… Read more »
South Africa: Parliament Fails to Hold the Executive to Account - History Shows What Can Happen
In South Africa's apartheid era from 1948 to 1994, the executive arm of government dominated over parliament. In any system, this allows a small group of politicians to dominate… Read more »
Africa: It Matters That Rishi Sunak Has Become the UK's First Prime Minister of Indian Descent
Following his uncontested run at the top job, Rishi Sunak acquires the less-than-coveted title of second successive un-elected British prime minister to take office in 2022.… Read more »
Africa: What Is - and What Isn't - 'Brain Fog'?
The COVID pandemic has introduced many scientific and medical terms into our everyday language. Many of us are now fluent in conversations about viral strains, PCR tests and… Read more »
South Africa: Artificial Intelligence Is Used for Predictive Policing in the U.S. and UK - South Africa Should Embrace It, Too
In the 2002 movie Minority Report (based on a short story by Philip K Dick), director Steven Spielberg imagined a future in which three psychics can "see" murders before they… Read more »
Africa: Covid Vaccines - an Annual Booster Like the Flu Shot Could Be the Way Forward
By now more than 70% of the UK population have received a third COVID vaccination, or a booster. Many people who are older or at higher risk from COVID have had a fourth or even a… Read more »
October 23, 2022
Nigeria: Nigeria's 2023 Budget Is a Plan of Despair and Won't Change the Tempo of the Economy
Nigeria's 2023 budget, recently presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly, has generated a furore. Read more »
Uganda: Ebola in Uganda - Why Women Must Be Central to the Response
"No time for that" was the constant refrain heard by gender and women's health experts working in the 2014/16 Ebola response. This was an emergency and the main thing was to deal… Read more »
Africa: Policy-Makers Must Change Direction Fast in the Post-Pandemic Era
After navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians now find themselves facing still more challenges that impact their daily lives on almost every front. Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria Floods - Govt's Mismanagement of Dams Is a Major Cause
There has been severe flooding in Nigeria - the worst in a decade. Earlier this month, Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency warned of catastrophic flooding for states… Read more »
South Africa: In 1986 Wits University Did a Survey About Its Relevance to South Africa - Another Is Needed
As the number of black students increased at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa in the 1980s, township struggles spread onto the campus and management came… Read more »
South Africa: 4 Ways Companies Can Strengthen Their Boards to Make It Through Tough Economic Times
South Africa's economy is struggling. A number of factors are behind the decline. These include severe power cuts which are taking their toll on all spheres of the economy, rising… Read more »
October 21, 2022
Africa: Four Ways to Spot Hints of Alien Life Using the James Webb Space Telescope
The study of exoplanets, worlds which orbit stars other than our sun, is currently being transformed by the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). We will shortly gain our first… Read more »
October 20, 2022
Lesotho: New Leaders Will Have to Deal With Political Discontent
The southern African kingdom of Lesotho went to the polls on 7 October 2022. Or at least some of its voters did. Turnout was at an all-time low of 38% of registered voters. Many… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria's Floods Are the Worst in a Decade. Here's How People Try to Cope With the Devastation
Flooding is not unusual in Nigeria's massive, population-dense cities. But this year's floods are reportedly the country's worst in a decade. They've killed more than 600 people,… Read more »
Africa: Breast Cancer - Five Tips From an Expert On Catching It Early and Keeping Safe
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the world. Every year it claims more than 650,000 lives. Read more »
South Africa: Struggle Songs Against Apartheid Come From a Long Tradition of Resistance
Struggle songs, also known as protest music or liberation songs, are defined as "expressions of discontent or dissent" used by politically disenfranchised protesters to influence… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya's Samburu Warriors Still Practise a Rock Art Tradition That Tells Their Stories
The Samburu people in northern Kenya's Marsabit county are pastoralists. They migrate from place to place in search of pasture and water for their cattle, goats, sheep and camels.… Read more »
Lesotho: New Leaders Have a Lot of Work - and Convincing - to Do After Elections
The southern African kingdom of Lesotho went to the polls on 7 October 2022. Or at least some of its voters did. Turnout was at an all-time low of 38% of registered voters. Many… Read more »
Africa: Is Urine Sterile? Do Urine 'Therapies' Work? Experts Debunk Common Pee Myths
Urine therapy (or urotherapy) is a longstanding practice based on the concept that urine can be drunk, bathed in, or otherwise applied to bring good health or even heal the body of… Read more »
Africa: Burnout and Isolation - Don't Ignore the Social and Mental Health Impact of Working From Home
The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred on a variety of workplace maladies, including "the great resignation," "quiet quitting," "overemployment," labour shortages and conflicts between… Read more »
October 19, 2022
Africa: How Do Fishes Scratch Their Itches? It Turns Out Sharks Are Involved
Imagine you're a big yellowfin tuna, miles from shore out in the blue, swimming around carefree, until you start to feel a little itch near your eye. Maybe it's just a scratch… Read more »
Africa: 3-D Techniques Shed Light On What Makes a Bird's Lungs So Efficient
Birds are profoundly important animals. As predators, pollinators, seed dispersers, scavengers and ecosystem bioengineers, the world's 11,000 species of birds play critical roles… Read more »