insert_link Africa Kenya unrest: Ruto awakened class politics that now threatens to engulf him By Peter Lockwood, University of Manchester Many of the grievances of Kenya’s Gen-Z, young people who took to the streets in late June, have been palpable for years. I witnessed these during field research as a social anthropologist studying land, livelihoods, urbanisation and electoral politics in Kiambu County, which borders Nairobi to the north and west. I spent nearly two years there between 2017 […] todayJuly 4, 2024 11
insert_link Health / Medical Global pandemic treaty will help fight future threats: top negotiator on how talks are going By Precious Matsoso, University of the Witwatersrand For the past two years the World Health Organization’s 194 member states have been negotiating an international accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. This was driven by the need to ensure the world is better prepared for future pandemics. The outcome of the government-led negotiations was presented to the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly […] todayJune 21, 2024 8
insert_link Africa African airlines headed for 100 million passengers milestone By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency African airlines are likely to cross the 100 million passengers mark for the first time in 2025, on the back of an aggressive push to open new routes and increased frequencies by local carriers. The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) projects the passenger numbers will reach 98 million by close of the year 2024 - a 15% rise compared […] todayJune 13, 2024 6
insert_link Health / Medical Are presidents good role models for vaccination uptake? DRC study shows only if they’re trusted, and people get to know about it By Nik Stoop, University of Antwerp; Elie Lunanga, University of Antwerp; Lara Collart, University of Antwerp, and Marijke Verpoorten, University of Antwerp Immunisation is considered one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, saving millions of lives each year, and benefiting the health of the wider community through herd immunity. Yet, there is as much reason to worry as to celebrate. During the COVID-19 […] todayJune 13, 2024 11
insert_link Namibia Ministry of Education launches nationwide consultation on future school calendar system The Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture is conducting consultations on the school calendar system for the 2025 academic year and beyond. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic out-break in 2020, the Ministry transitioned from a trimester calendar system to reduce the spread of the virus during the winter months when cases increased. todayJune 10, 2024 20
insert_link Local Long-serving Ultimate Safaris staff reap the rewards. Ten Ultimate Safaris Tribe Trust trustees were earlier this month paid their share of the almost N$ 140 000 Trust dividends, each of them walking away with almost the equivalent of a full month’s salary. Dividend declarations are guided by Ultimate Safaris conservative dividend policy, which dictates that 30% of profits are declared as dividend and the remaining 70% reinvested into the company and building resilience for […] todayJune 3, 2024 3
insert_link Local Small businesses big impact: Boosting SMEs to drive economic growth In the face of a recovering economy, soaring inflation, and high interest rates, small business owners in Namibia are navigating challenging times. Now more than ever, supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is imperative, given their significant contribution to the Namibian economy. It is estimated that there are over 40 000 SMEs in Namibia, supporting the livelihoods of more than 200 000 people and contributing approximately […] todayMay 28, 2024 8
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 10
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 22
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.