insert_link Africa Mysterious African manatees inspire a growing chorus of champions By Petro Kotzé, via Mongabay As a young student, Aristide Kamla had “big plans” when he traveled to Lake Ossa in Cameroon to conduct his master’s degree fieldwork with the little-known African manatee. He was hoping for a manatee count and a management plan to come out of the expedition on the roughly 4,000-hectare (10,000-acre) lake. But securing grants was difficult for this budding researcher, so his first funder […] todaySeptember 10, 2024 27
insert_link Africa Cameroon spends 90% of Chinese development loans on its French region: this could deepen the country’s divisions By Afa’anwi Ma’abo Che, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University In Cameroon, violent clashes between government forces and separatists from the English-speaking parts of the country started in 2017. Since then, at least 598,000 people have had to leave their homes and about 2 million have been left in need of humanitarian aid. The anglophone crisis resulted from the government’s repressive response to largely peaceful protests in 2016-2017. Protesters were […] todayAugust 12, 2024 11
Africa Africa plays big in a list of top global startup ‘ecosystem contenders’ By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency Africa has the potential to almost double its representation in a prestigious ranking of the world's top 100 startup hubs as cities from its unranked countries control the list of top contenders to watch out for, according to a global index. Currently, only 13 African countries feature in the Startup Blink’s Startup Ecosystem Report 2024, in a list […] todayJune 17, 2024 19
insert_link Africa Displaced by violent conflict: the world’s most neglected crises are in Africa – six essential reads By Kagure Gacheche, The Conversation The Norwegian Refugee Council recently released a report highlighting the 10 most neglected displacement crises in the world in 2023. Nine of the 10 countries are in Africa – the only non-African country on the list is Honduras in central America. Neglect, according to the council, is characterised by a lack of media coverage, inadequate humanitarian funding and insufficient […] todayJune 10, 2024 7
insert_link Africa A mixed bag for Elon Musk’s space internet in Africa By Conrad Onyango, via bird story agency As Elon Musk-owned Starlink internet service reaches a new global milestone of 3 million users in nearly 100 countries, it's a mixed bag for its operations in Africa. "Congratulations to the @SpaceX team on passing 3 million customers in 99 countries! And thanks to you for buying @Starlink!" Musk recently thanked Starlink and users on X for the milestone. On its progress report, […] todayMay 27, 2024 46
insert_link Africa Two new malaria vaccines are being rolled out across Africa: how they work and what they promise By Jaishree Raman, National Institute for Communicable Diseases Malaria incidents are on the rise. There were 249 million cases of this parasitic disease in 2022, five million more than in 2021. Africa suffers more than any other region from malaria, with 94% of cases and 95% of deaths worldwide. This year two revolutionary malaria vaccines are being rolled out across the continent. Nadine Dreyer asks Jaishree Raman […] todayApril 23, 2024 40
insert_link Namibia UNESCO Projects Empower Journalism Education in Africa UNESCO launched projects in 10 African journalism schools, benefiting over 735 students, 556 journalists, and 123 educators. These initiatives aimed to strengthen journalism training, focusing on areas like data journalism, environmental reporting, gender diversity in news, media sustainability, and marginalized community coverage. The projects also enhanced capacity and expertise among faculty members. Aside from schools from Namibia, Ethiopia, Morocco, Kenya, Malawi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Ghana, South […] todayApril 19, 2024 32
insert_link Africa Health risks at home: a study in six African countries shows how healthy housing saves children’s lives The WHO has developed guidelines outlining the attributes of healthy housing. These include structural soundness, as well as access to a local community that enables social interactions. Healthy housing protects inhabitants from the effects of disasters, pollution, waste and extreme heat or cold. It provides a feeling of home, including a sense of belonging, security and privacy. Health risks in the home environment are important to think about because of […] todayMarch 26, 2024 36
insert_link Africa Cameroon’s rebels may not achieve their goal of creating the Ambazonian state – but they’re still a threat to stability By Manu Lekunze, University of Aberdeen Cameroon’s separatist insurgency is an armed conflict in the country’s North West (NW) and South West (SW) regions that began in 2017. It pits government forces against several non-state armed groups, locally known as “Amba rebels”. The rebels seek to create a state called Ambazonia out of Cameroon’s English-speaking regions. The conflict has killed over 6,000 people and displaced 765,000. Over […] todayMarch 18, 2024 3