Sickle cell disease is rife in west Africa – a fresh approach is needed to combat it: Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of sickle cell disease Wikimedia Commons Sickle cell disease refers to a group of inherited blood disorders with symptoms like anaemia and blocked blood vessels. About 80% of the …
Sénégal : derrière les manifestations se cache un combat pour les libertés démocratiques: Des affrontements ont éclaté au Sénégal à la suite de la condamnation du chef de l'opposition Ousmane Sonko à deux ans de prison pour "corruption de la jeunesse" en juin 2023. Annika Hammerschlag/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Le 3 juillet, dans la …
Bathrooms are political: how gender-inclusive toilets can combat indignity and violence: Swasdee/Getty Images A new hate crimes bill is inching closer to the possibility of becoming law in South Africa. The bill entrenches human dignity as a foundational value of the country by providing for penalties for explicit acts of violence and discrimination motivated by …
Women’s secret war: the inside story of how the US military sent female soldiers on covert combat missions to Afghanistan: US marines with a female engagement team in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, in May 2012. Cpl. Meghan Gonzales/DVIDS A US Army handbook from 2011 opens one of its chapters with a line from Rudyard Kipling’s …
GCSEs: what to say and what to avoid if you want to help teenagers combat exam anxiety: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock GCSE exams are under way and many students will be feeling the pressure to get the grades they need to pursue their education or employment goals. They may be experiencing exam anxiety, which is linked …
Air pollution is a hidden pandemic in Africa – tips on how to reduce your exposure and help combat it: Children and elderly people are vulnerable to air pollution. Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP. from www,gettyimages.com Rapid urbanisation in Africa is worsening air pollution levels. There are economic as well as health consequences. Air pollution …
Peace in the DRC: East Africa has deployed troops to combat M23 rebels – who’s who in the regional force: South Sudanese soldiers prepare for deployment to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Samir Bol/AFP via Getty Images The East Africa Community (EAC) has completed the deployment of its regional force in the Democratic Republic of …
Climate change means farmers in West Africa need more ways to combat pests: Farmer preparing bean bags at a market in northern Nigeria. Photo by Jorge Fernández/LightRocket via Getty Images The link between climate change and the spread of crop pests has been established by research and evidence. Farmers are noticing the link themselves, alongside …
Five things South Africa must do to combat cybercrime: Shutterstock Cyber-attacks are on the rise globally, with seriously negative implications for countries’ strategic, national, economic and social well-being. A cyber-attack can be defined as an unauthorised attempt – successful or not – to infiltrate a computer or computer system for malicious purposes. Reasons for such …
Inflation: why it’s happening and why interest rates are going up to combat it: Inflation rates are currently rising, reflecting the increasing cost of goods and services. PERO Studio / Shutterstock Soaring prices have forced central banks in many developed countries to raise their interest rates in recent weeks. These organisations are in charge of …
Media literacy education in South Africa can help combat fake news – here’s what’s needed: A teacher conducts a lesson under a tree in Limpopo Province. Sandile Ndlovu/Sowetan/ Gallo Images /Getty Images Online platforms are replete with examples of false information – from WhatsApp messages punting some miraculous cure for COVID, to social media posts …
Four ways you can design social media posts to combat health misinformation: GaudiLab/Shutterstock It’s no secret that online misinformation has been a big problem throughout the pandemic. Of course, health misinformation isn’t exclusive to COVID – it’s a challenge we faced well before the pandemic, exacerbated by the global shift into the digital age. But …
Six things social media users and businesses can do to combat hate online: Lala Azizli/Unsplash Online hostility has become a bigger problem over recent years, particularly with people spending more time on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. A US survey found four in ten Americans have experienced harassment online – with three-quarters reporting that …
Nigeria’s plastic pollution is harming the environment: steps to combat it are overdue: Pius Utomi Ekpei/ AFP via Getty Images A key theme at this year’s United Nations Environment Assembly in Kenya is plastic pollution. It will be returning to a theme from 2018 World Environment Day. The evidence for the prevalence and consequences of …
What Ghana can do to combat corruption: educate, prevent, enforce: Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has undertaken several anti-corruption projects James David Duncan/Wikimedia Commons Ghana’s finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, estimates that the country loses over US$ 4 billion annually to corruption: abuse of entrusted power for advancing private interests. The loss is about 20% of …
Vigilantism in Nigeria: a way to combat crime if it’s non-violent and regulated: A member of the Yansakai vigilante group poses with a gun in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria. Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images Worsening crime and violence in sub-Saharan Africa is placing increasing demands on police in the region. Six Sub-Saharan African …
The pandemic made period poverty worse in the UK – but also led to new ways to combat it: Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Despite the UK being one of the most developed countries in the world, there are still thousands of people in Britain who are not able to afford or access period products or menstrual health …
Africa faces an uphill battle against western emissions to combat climate change: Although African nations contribute the least to climate change, many are bearing its worst burdens. Omoeko Media/Wikimedia The UN climate summit COP26, held in November 2021, focused the world’s attention on the urgent need to tackle climate change and concluded with 197 countries …