Author: The Conversation

Rift Valley fever: What it is, how it spreads and how to stop it Oct 27, 2025

It is important to follow basic health precautions when Rift Valley fever appears. Wash your hands regularly. Wear protective gear when handling anima...

Human ancestors were exposed to lead millions of years ago, and it shaped our evolution Oct 27, 2025

By studying how our ancestors’ bodies and genes responded to environmental stress, we can learn how to build a healthier, more resilient future.

Why countries struggle to ditch fossil fuels despite rising costs, decades of climate deals Oct 26, 2025

Thirty years into global climate talks, the disconnect between promises and practices has never been so clear. The world is not on track to meet the P...

Africa imports over 70 per cent of its medicines — Local production of ingredients could change that Oct 26, 2025

The governments of Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria are investing in public-private partnerships to support this shift.

Why industry-standard labels for AI in music could change how we listen Oct 26, 2025

The company also says it’s focusing work on improved enforcement of impersonation violations and a new spam-filtering system, and that updates are “th...

New study reveals why young mothers in Kenya are at higher risk of preterm births Oct 26, 2025

For millions of families in Sub-Saharan African countries like Kenya, having a preterm birth is all too common.

Four-country study finds worrying issues with cancer drug quality in Africa Oct 26, 2025

The combination of high demand and low capacity for regulatory oversight in a market renders it vulnerable to substandard and falsified medical produc...

African languages for AI: The project that’s gathering a huge new dataset Oct 26, 2025

The challenge now is integration: making these pieces work together so that African languages are not just represented in isolated demos, but in real-...

Explore earth in 2100: New online game lets you imagine the future Oct 26, 2025

A game called The Flood Recovery Game is being used by researchers to identify disaster recovery gaps. It can also help policymakers create more compr...

Ethiopian quarter: How migrants have shaped a thriving shopping district in South Africa’s city of gold Oct 26, 2025

The cross-border shopping hub of Jeppe offers hope for an inland entrepot to be recognised, supported and expanded to offer the global services that J...

Taking down malaria’s bodyguards: Scientists target parasite’s secret defence system Oct 26, 2025

By turning the parasite’s own survival machinery against it, scientists may have found a subtle but powerful way to outsmart one of humanity’s oldest...

African languages for AI: The project that’s gathering a huge new dataset Oct 19, 2025

The bigger ambition of our project is to explore how data for ASR is collected and how much of it is needed to create ASR tools. We aim to share our e...

Madagascar’s military power grab shows Africa’s coup problem isn’t restricted to the Sahel region Oct 18, 2025

But the military takeover in Madagascar marks only the second coup in that period to take place outside of the Sahel region, stretching from the Atlan...

With 83 per cent of its buildings destroyed, Gaza needs more than money to rebuild Oct 18, 2025

Gaza itself has been razed to the ground in many areas. The United Nations estimates 83 per cent of all structures and housing units have been damaged...

Raila Odinga: The man who changed Kenya without ever ruling it Oct 18, 2025

Having self-identified as a revolutionary, Odinga later proved to be committed to institutional reform and democratisation. His greatest legacy is the...

China, US are in a race for critical minerals: Why African countries need to make the rules Oct 13, 2025

The question is what African countries are doing to take advantage of this demand for these critical minerals, especially to drive their own developme...

How disaster-ready are African countries? Study of 5 shows some progress, but also huge gaps Oct 13, 2025

In Kenya, counties are also showing strong local leadership, taking on more responsibility for disaster planning, coordination and community engagemen...

Chinese companies are changing the way they operate in Africa: Here’s how Oct 11, 2025

In Kenya, China Road and Bridge Corporation, a subsidiary of Africa’s largest international contractor, China Communication Construction Company, open...

Windhoek’s Old Location was a place of pain, but also joy - new book Oct 11, 2025

In Namibia, the Old Location was the main residential area for Africans in the capital, Windhoek. The settlement was established in 1903 during German...

Male circumcision is made easier by a clever South African invention - we trained healthcare workers to use it Oct 11, 2025

Several southern African countries started their national circumcision programmes to prevent HIV in 2010. As of 2023, 37 million voluntary medical mal...

NoViolet Bulawayo wins the best of 25 years of the Caine Prize: Why she deserves it Oct 11, 2025

Her short story, Hitting Budapest, won the prize in 2011. She has gone on to publish two acclaimed novels, We Need New Names and Glory. Both were shor...

Africa’s ‘great green wall’ is stalling: In Senegal very few planted areas show progress Oct 11, 2025

Pledges at global summits attract media headlines, but do not always materialise. Often, only a small fraction of pledged funding reaches target count...

Child malnutrition in Kenya: AI model can forecast rates six months before they become critical Oct 11, 2025

This model can forecast where and at what prevalence level acute malnutrition among children is likely to occur in one month’s time with 89 per cent a...

Why are the ICJ and ICC cases on Israel and Gaza taking so long? Oct 10, 2025

So, it’s clear the ICC and the ICJ already have legal proceedings well underway relating to crimes in Gaza. These international courts are ready to he...

How safe is your face? The pros and cons of having facial recognition everywhere Oct 10, 2025

Things get even murkier when it comes to children. Due to new government legislation, social media platforms may well introduce face-based age verific...

We tested if a specialised magnetic powder could remove microplastics from drinking water: The answer is yes Oct 09, 2025

The key point is that the powders are engineered or specifically made to grab onto plastics so that microplastics naturally cling to them in water.

Ethiopia has struggled to build national unity: Can its big new dam deliver it? Oct 09, 2025

The quest for national cohesion has occupied Ethiopian state builders, stretching back from the imperial state up until the present period. Previous a...

Tanzania’s Samia Suluhu Hassan has ushered in a new era of authoritarianism: Here's how Oct 07, 2025

The consequence is that Samia is running to be re-elected as the president of Tanzania, opposed only by minor candidates. This is a scenario without p...

World’s first known butt-drag fossil trace was left by a rock hyrax in South Africa 126,000 years ago Oct 05, 2025

Through appreciating the importance of butt-drag impressions, urolites, coprolites and hyraceum, and learning about the environment of rock hyraxes an...

Universities can turn AI from threat to opportunity by teaching critical thinking Oct 05, 2025

Used well, AI can help generate practice questions, provide feedback, and stimulate dialogue (if students are guided to critically engage with its out...

African countries gear up for major push on climate innovation, climate financing and climate change laws Oct 05, 2025

Climate finance should ensure fairness by empowering the most affected communities to adapt, receive compensation for losses, and benefit from strong...

Vaccines and motherhood: Are AI-generated health messages working in Kenya and Nigeria? Oct 05, 2025

Kenya and Nigeria are long-time pioneers in health tech innovation, continually evolving their communication strategies with each wave of new technolo...

Why it’s time to rethink the notion of an autism 'spectrum’ Oct 05, 2025

Autism is made up of many different traits and needs, which show up in unique combinations. Some autistic people rely heavily on routine, while others...

Around the world, migrants are being deported at alarming rates - how did this become normalised? Oct 03, 2025

In the UK, far-right rallies at asylum hotels have been met by counter demonstrations, with people insisting on a politics of welcome and unity.

Tanzania’s green gold rush: How avocado waste is hurting farmers and what should be done Oct 03, 2025

In the rush to transform African agriculture for global markets, it is important to consider what is left behind or thrown away. Food waste is not jus...

Jane Goodall, the gentle disrupter whose research on chimpanzees redefined what it meant to be human Oct 03, 2025

In her pioneering studies in the lush rainforest of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream Game Reserve, now a national park, Goodall noted that the most successful...

Tanzania’s ruling party has crushed the opposition - the elections are a mere formality Oct 03, 2025

With the opposition pushed aside and a controlled electoral process underway, CCM’s victory is all but certain. The key question now is the future of...

Palm trees in Africa are in decline: These botanists made a plan to do something about it Oct 02, 2025

At a recent African flora conference in Ghana, we launched a new pan-African network for palm specialists from the continent to study and protect palm...

South Sudan is unstable: How a weak state benefits the ruling elite Sep 29, 2025

Instability has allowed the elite to undermine the justice system and actively suppress efforts at reconciliation.

G20 in a changing world: Is it still useful? Four scholars weigh in Sep 28, 2025

Trump delivered a broadside attack on multilateralism as well as issues that have found common cause among rich and poor countries alike, such as clim...

Graduated, now what? Survey of young Africans shows degrees don’t always land them a job Sep 28, 2025

The future of work in Africa will not be defined by smooth transitions, but by complex entanglements. Recognising and supporting these entanglements m...

There’s a new outbreak of Ebola in Africa. Here’s what you need to know Sep 28, 2025

Symptoms can be sudden: fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headaches and sore throat start first, then progress to vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, rash...

Tanzania’s social media clampdown and the elections – what’s at risk Sep 27, 2025

The law has been condemned for provisions which limit political expression through blogs, online media and mobile platforms like WhatsApp. People have...

AI in Africa: Five issues that must be tackled for digital equality Sep 27, 2025

The scale of the AI gap is stark. Africa holds less than 1 per cent of global data centre capacity. Data centres are the engines that drive AI. This m...

When the IMF comes to town: Why they visit and what to watch out for Sep 24, 2025

The IMF provides the financing on an unsecured basis. It tries to ensure that it will be repaid by making the financing subject to policy conditions,...

Ethiopia’s two bids at democracy have failed: What it will take to succeed Sep 22, 2025

The country has two unfavourable choices: support a non-democratic government to consolidate political order and then gradually help it achieve democr...

Zimbabwean artist Portia Zvavahera transforms dreams into powerful paintings Sep 21, 2025

From an archival perspective, the exhibition is compelling because it frames these dreamscapes with materiality – paint, paper, canvas, brushstrokes –...

How Nigeria’s plastic waste could enrich the fashion industry Sep 21, 2025

Evidence from other regions, such as Europe and North America, shows that producing polyester fibres from recycled PET rather than unused materials ca...

One in three South Africans has never heard of AI – What this means for policy Sep 21, 2025

Thirty-seven per cent of the survey respondents had never heard of AI, while 36 per cent indicated they’d heard of it but knew very little about it an...

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