How Rwanda is managing its COVID-19 vaccination rollout plans

It’s been over a year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. In an amazing feat of science and technology, a number of safe and effective …

Africa is being courted by China, Russia and the US. Why the continent shouldn’t pick sides

World order is undergoing a structural transformation and the continent is an obvious contender for major power courting 

Just 4 doses of pain relievers available daily per million people in west, central Africa: UN

This means that people with severe pain, especially the terminally ill are most-affected in these regions

African states need a vision for relations with the Indo-Pacific

The year ahead offers an excellent opportunity for states such as South Africa to develop its approach to the Indo-Pacific

South African study gives insights into sexual health needs of people with disabilities

Many people without disabilities hold problematic attitudes towards the sexuality of people with physical disabilities, a study showed

Higher quality seeds can help beat Africa’s ‘hunger pandemic’

One useful intervention would be to organise farming communities — or seed producer groups — into business entities

Basic water services in South Africa are in decay after years of progress

In South Africa, the right to water is enshrined in the constitution

Malaria elimination: South Africa needs to regroup and refocus to get there

For the second time in a decade, South Africa is set to miss its malaria-elimination target

Wins, missteps and lessons: African experts reflect on 2 years of COVID-19 response

Health workforce in Nigeria, and indeed Africa, has to be seen as critical to national development, say experts

Nanosatellite launch is a big step forward for African space science

The MDASat nanosatellite constellation is designed to collect data that will enhance the security and protection of South African marine resources

Small towns are collapsing across South Africa. How it’s starting to affect farming

There is growing evidence that governance and service delivery failures are affecting functioning and efficiencies of farming and agribusinesses …

Guinea declares Ebola outbreak after 3 deaths

Four more infected; the epidemic first began in 2013 in Guinea and left more than 11,300 dead across the region

Coup in Gabon: Ali Bongo the eighth west African leader to be ousted by military in two years

The coup appears to have brought an end to Bongo family’s 55-year hold on power in the country

Seed money: Corporations attempt to take over Africa’s seed economy

The complete Down To Earth ocver story on what a slew of government regulations can mean

How governments across Africa defend troubling seeds regulations

Governments in African countries justify rush to formalise the seed sector citing acute food scarcity in the continent

Debt distress in Africa: biggest problems, and ways forward

In 2020, sub-Saharan Africa had a total external debt stock of $702.4 billion, compared to $380.9 billion in 2012

COVID vaccines: African countries need to fix their distribution chains

Africa’s score trails all major regions of the world in six key categories of logistics performance, including timeliness and tracking

Climate change is affecting agrarian migrant livelihoods in Ghana. This is how

The impact of climate events will be worse on poor communities in the global south because most of them depend on environmental resources

Trailing giants: Clues to how people and giraffes can thrive together

The best way to reverse giraffe population declines is to monitor individual animals and learn why they do better in a particular place 

Mali fails to face up to the persistence of slavery

The practice is most prevalent among Mali’s nomadic Tuareg and Fulani communities in Central and Northern Mali

COVID-19 in South Africa: what to expect in the short and long term

Fallout from pandemic put significant obstacles in the way of managing patients with chronic illnesses

COVID-19: What we know so far about fresh case surge in South Africa

In April, more than half the samples sequenced in South Africa were reported as BA.4 and BA.5 

‘Over 22 million in Ethiopia facing severe food crisis’

Back-to-back droughts causing food emergency, children at high risk of death from malnutrition, says non-profit

Drought in the Horn of Africa: More than 18.5 million in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti face humanitarian crisis

As pastureland and water points dry up, 20 million may be acutely food insecure by year-end  

Book Excerpt: Swahili in German East Africa

Morgan J Robinson's 2022 book explores how Swahili was standardised and eventually became a pan-African language