Africa South Africans are abandoning smallholder farming – history and policy can help explain why By Klara Fischer, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences South African smallholders are abandoning farming. The decline in field cultivation is a problem, since many of these smallholder households struggle to make ends meet. If people were able to produce more of their own food this would improve their lives. The current situation is a combined effect of the country’s historical legacy and the negative impacts of recent […] todayMay 10, 2024 8
insert_link Africa Kenya floods: as the costs add up pressure mounts on a country in economic crisis By Timothy Njagi Njeru, Egerton University There were early warnings that Kenya’s long rain season – between March and May – was going to bring above-normal rainfall. The extreme intensity of the rain has resulted in devastating floods in many parts of the country. Forty of the country’s 47 counties have been affected. More than 230 people have died and about 40,000 households, so far, have been […] todayMay 10, 2024 9
insert_link Africa East Africa braces for more rains Kenya remains on high alert as Tropical Cyclone Hidaya threatens to dump more torrential rains on East African countries, which recently emerged from three years of historic drought. The heavy rains have caused deadly flooding and landslides that have killed nearly 400 people across the region since March. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Kenya, Stephen Jackson. todayMay 7, 2024 8
insert_link Environment How extreme dieting can affect bone health Jameela Jamil shared that a scan had revealed she has poor bone density. lev radin/ Shutterstock By Adam Taylor, Lancaster University In a recent Instagram post, the actor Jameela Jamil revealed she has poor bone density, despite only being in her 30s. Jamil blamed this finding on 20 years of dieting – urging her followers to be aware of the harms diet culture can do to your health. Bone […] todayMay 7, 2024 3
insert_link Environment Venus is losing water faster than previously thought – here’s what that could mean for the early planet’s habitability An artist’s illustration of hydrogen disappearing from Venus. Aurore Simonnet/ Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics/ University of Colorado Boulder By Eryn Cangi, University of Colorado Boulder Today, the atmosphere of our neighbor planet Venus is as hot as a pizza oven and drier than the driest desert on Earth – but it wasn’t always that way. Billions of years ago, Venus had as much water as Earth […] todayMay 7, 2024 13
insert_link Environment Great white sharks off South Africa’s coast are protected by law, but not in practice. Why this needs to change By Enrico Gennari, Rhodes University; Neil Hammerschlag, University of Oregon, and Sara Andreotti, Stellenbosch University In less than eight years, white sharks in South Africa have all but disappeared from their historical hotspots in False Bay and Gansbaai, on the Western Cape coast. These areas were once known as the “white shark capital of the world” and were home to a flourishing ecotourism industry. One possible […] todayMay 6, 2024 24
insert_link Environment 7 Billion tonnes of plastic waste threaten environment Since the 1950s, 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced, seven billion tonnes of which have become potentially toxic waste. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the international negotiating committee secretariat that is focused on curbing the scourge told UN News that if no action is taken, plastic pollution could triple by 2060. todayMay 2, 2024 24
insert_link Africa Climate change could cost Africa billions by 2030 Africa currently loses between $7 billion and $15 billion a year because of climate change. If that trend continues, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina tells the Zero podcast, that number could reach $50 billion by 2030. That’s why Adesina is focusing the bank’s efforts on financing climate adaptation, which he describes as the “forgotten cousin” of climate mitigation. todayMay 2, 2024 11
insert_link Environment Electricity from farm waste: how biogas could help Malawians with no power By Ehiaze Ehimen, Atlantic Technological University and Thomas Robin, Atlantic Technological University In sub-Saharan Africa, over 600 million people (more than 50% of the population) are without access to electricity. Malawi has one of the world’s lowest electricity access rates – just 14.1% of the total population have access to the main grid. In rural areas, the electrification access rate is even lower, estimated at 5.6% […] todayMay 2, 2024 9
Paying it forward: Kenyan coastal doctor Bashrahil Mohammed Mafudh has made it his life’s work to care for the most vulnerable in his community, at no cost.
