Contributed, Author at Future Media News

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 […]

14 May, 2024

Health / Medical

Becoming a dad can be scary. Here’s how to be the best father for your kids

By nurturing strong father-child attachment, fathers contribute to the growth, resilience and happiness of their children. Goodboy Picture Company/Getty Images By Tawanda Makusha, Human Sciences Research Council It is natural to feel apprehensive about the responsibilities that come with parenthood – the financial obligations, the emotional and practical support, and the lifelong commitment. And parenting takes many forms. In my case I became a father for the first […]

13 May, 2024

World

Divesting university endowments: Easier demanded than done

A ‘divest from death’ banner at a University of Oregon protest against the Israel-Hamas war on April 29, 2024. AP Photo/Jenny Kane By Todd L. Ely, University of Colorado Denver Campus protests expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and objecting to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza include many calls for universities and colleges to divest – a word that basically means sell – any of their […]

13 May, 2024

Africa

Africa Tech Summit London Announces 15 Ventures for the 2024 Investment Showcase at London Stock Exchange on June 7th

Africa Tech Summit (ATS) London will celebrate the eighth edition at the London Stock Exchange on June 7th, 2024, and is thrilled to announce the 15 tech ventures that will join the ATS Investment Showcase 2024. The ATS London Investment Showcase provides ventures with the opportunity to present their businesses to leading African tech investors, corporates, and industry stakeholders in attendance from Europe, USA and Africa. The […]

13 May, 2024

Africa

How BAL’S Sahara conference action is unfolding in Dakar

via bird story agency As BAL’s Sahara Conference gets underway at the Dakar Arena in Senegal, the first round saw professional basketball clubs from Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Tunisia vying for direct playoff berths. Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers are topping conference standings with a commanding third consecutive victory in the group stage. Their latest triumph, an 84-63 win over Tunisia’s US Monastir, follows a hard-fought 86-82 triumph […]

13 May, 2024

Africa

Malawi’s school kids are using tablets to improve their reading and maths skills

By Nicola Pitchford, University of Nottingham Malawi introduced free primary education in 1994. This has significantly improved access to schooling. However, the country – which is one of the poorest in the world – still faces a high learning poverty rate of 87%. Learning poverty is a measure of a child’s inability to meet minimum proficiency in reading, numeracy and other skills at the primary school level. […]

13 May, 2024

Africa

Madagascar’s ancient baobab forests are being restored by communities – with a little help from AI

By Seheno Andriantsaralaza, Université d’Antananarivo Six of the world’s eight baobab species are indigenous to Madagascar, where the distinctive trees with giant trunks have historically grown in huge forests. But these forests are threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture – 4,000 hectares of baobab forest in Madagascar are destroyed every year. Baobab trees can live for 1,000 years and one hectare of land can support eight […]

13 May, 2024

Africa

Female genital mutilation is on the rise in Africa: disturbing new trends are driving up the numbers

By Tamsin Bradley, University of Portsmouth Thirteen-year-old Salamatu Jalloh had her whole future to look forward to. But in January 2023, her lifeless body was found wrapped in a pink and blue shroud on an earthen floor in a village in north-west Sierra Leone. Salamatu and two other girls bled to death after participating in a secret Bondo society initiation into womanhood. The ceremony, which […]

13 May, 2024

Africa

Can insurtech fix Africa’s low insurance penetration?

By Conrad Onyango, via bird story agency Until recently, Africa’s legacy insurance market has been relying on an old agent-driven sales model, where agents physically scouts for clients in offices, malls and other business centers to market, sell and deliver insurance products. Under this model these agents have mostly been focusing on selling individual policies largely to wealthy clients who can buy expensive products to earn them […]

10 May, 2024