insert_link Africa Ghana’s forests are being wiped out: what’s behind this and why attempts to stop it aren’t working By John Tennyson Afele, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana has around 7.9 million hectares of forested land (35% of the total land area), according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Around 7.6 million hectares are primary or naturally regenerated forest, and around 297,000 hectares are planted forest. In 2022, Ghana lost 18,000 hectares of primary forest, a nearly 70% increase from […] todayMay 15, 2024 30
insert_link South Africa Over 26 million South Africans get a social grant. Fear of losing the payment used to be a reason to vote for the ANC, but no longer – study By Leila Patel, University of Johannesburg and Yolanda Sadie, University of Johannesburg Social grants to reduce poverty feature prominently in the campaign promises of political parties in South Africa’s 2024 national and provincial general elections, set for 29 May. The country’s social grants system is one of the largest in Africa in terms of number of beneficiaries. Research shows that this has helped reduce poverty. […] todayMay 15, 2024 13
insert_link Africa African health experts warn of climate change & rising vector-borne diseases Climate change has become a pressing public health crisis around the world, as disease patterns worsen and emerge in regions where they did not exist before. Health experts are particularly concerned about the role of climate change in the rise of vector-borne diseases in Africa’s low- and middle-income countries. Rising temperatures can expand and extend the life cycle of disease-carrying vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks and parasites. Health experts discussed […] todayMay 14, 2024 31
insert_link Africa A booming fitness culture in Africa is attracting global players By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency The African debut of popular global workout competition, the “World Series of Fitness Racing” in 2024 is the latest testament to an unfolding fitness culture revolution on the continent. Hyrox, through its African subsidiary, Hyrox Africa, is set to host an event at the Cape Town Convention Centre in South Africa on September 21st. The Hyrox challenge involves eight 'functional' […] todayMay 14, 2024 98
insert_link Africa Sudan’s descent into chaos sets stage for al-Qaida to make a return to historic stronghold By Sara Harmouch, American University “Sudan’s moment has come; chaos is our chance to sow the seeds of jihad,” warned Abu Hudhaifa al-Sudani, a high-ranking al-Qaida leader, in an October 2022 manifesto. His words may have seemed premature at the time, but a year of brutal civil war has now plunged Sudan into the kind of chaos in which terrorist groups thrive. The risk of […] todayMay 14, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Tanzania’s political parties have few women in leadership and candidate lists: some solutions By Victoria Melkisedeck Lihiru, The Open University of Tanzania Tanzania, in keeping with global political trends, reserves 30% of seats in parliament for women. These so-called special seats were introduced with multiparty politics in 1992, in response to the low numbers of women elected to positions of power. There were only eight elected female parliamentarians after the first multiparty elections in 1995. Ten years later, 17 […] todayMay 14, 2024 13
insert_link Africa Wildlife traffickers carried on their illegal trade during COVID lockdown – what legal traders can learn from their resilience By Annette Hübschle, University of Cape Town and Meredith Gore, University of Maryland The world literally stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic. But while countries locked down to keep coronavirus at bay, wildlife traffickers carried on their illegal activities. Global risk governance and criminology academics Annette Hübschle and Meredith Gore studied the traffickers’ methods and share lessons from their resilience. How did wildlife traffickers continue their […] todayMay 14, 2024 18
insert_link South Africa Christianity is changing in South Africa as pentecostal and indigenous churches grow – what’s behind the trend By Dion Forster, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Studies show that South Africa is one of only three countries in the world where religious participation has increased in recent years. The other two countries are Italy and the US. The 2022 Census data show that South Africa’s Christian adherence has once again increased. However, the kinds of Christianity that are growing, and those that are declining, tell […] todayMay 14, 2024 24
insert_link Health / Medical 154 million lives saved in 50 years: 5 charts on the global success of vaccines By Meru Sheel, University of Sydney and Alexandra Hogan, UNSW Sydney We know vaccines have been a miracle for public health. Now, new research led by the World Health Organization has found vaccines have saved an estimated 154 million lives in the past 50 years from 14 different diseases. Most of these have been children under five, and around two-thirds children under one year old. In 1974 […] todayMay 14, 2024 30