Measles isn’t just dangerous – it may erase your immune system: INSAGO/Shutterstock Blindness, pneumonia, severe diarrhoea and even death – measles virus infections, especially in children, can have devastating consequences. Fortunately, we have a safe and effective defence. Measles vaccines are estimated to have averted more than 60 million deaths between 2000 and 2023. Yet …
Kenya’s brutal police have been exposed again – why the system fails people: The recent killing in Kenya of a young man in police detention highlights a string of systemic failures to hold the country’s security officers accountable for their actions. Despite public outrage and protests, Kenyan police officers continue to use inhumane, brutal and …
Why the global tax system needs fixing – podcast: Cagkan Sayin/Shutterstock For decades, multinational corporations have used sophisticated strategies to shift profits away from where they do business. As a result, countries around the world lose an estimated US$ 500 billion annually in unpaid taxes, with developing nations hit particularly hard. In the first of …
Child support in South Africa: mothers speak about the struggle to get fathers to pay in a system rigged against women: Child maintenance – the duty to support a child – is more than a right. It ensures children have their basic needs met. It also means single mothers don’t have to shoulder the responsibility …
Raising revenue from land: what African cities might learn from Hong Kong’s unique land-lease system: Land prices across many African cities are soaring. This is because land is a city’s key asset. As urbanisation progresses, demand for land will rise, and therefore so will land prices, because the supply of land in cities is limited. …
The global food system is owned by an ever smaller number of companies – it’s damaging our health, our communities and the planet: creativeriver/Shutterstock Across the world, over 800 million people spend their days hungry. More than 2 billion have limited access to food. Yet today’s global food system produces enough to feed every person …
African countries can’t resolve their debt crisis under a system rigged against them: The debt situation in many African countries has escalated again to a critical juncture. Twenty are in, or at risk of, debt distress. Three pivotal elements significantly contribute to this. Firstly, the rules governing the international banking system favour developed countries and …
Uganda’s tax system isn’t bringing in enough revenue but is targeting small business the answer?: Uganda, with a fiscal deficit of 5.6% in 2023, has increasingly turned to local resources to make up for its revenue shortfall since the World Bank suspended its funding on 8 August 2023 over the country’s anti-homosexuality law. In early …
Big Savings From a Solar Geyser System: With rising electricity costs and the growing urgency to embrace renewable energy, solar geyser systems are becoming increasingly popular. One option gaining traction in South Africa is the APEX SGS, a Cape Town-made system aiming to simplify access to solar water heating. But before you take the plunge, …
Matric results: South Africa’s record school pass rates aren’t what they seem – what’s really happening in the education system: South Africa's minister of basic education, Angie Motshekga. Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images via Getty Images South Africa’s matric (grade 12) class of 2023, which wrote final school-leaving exams late last year, has been hailed by the …
An ancient system that could bring water to dry areas: Some of Africa’s dry areas face serious water shortages due to minimal rainfall. An ancient system of drawing water from aquifers, the “qanat system”, could help. Gaathier Mahed, an environmental scientist and expert on the management of groundwater, has studied the feasibility of these systems. …
Tatahouine: ‘Star Wars meteorite’ sheds light on the early Solar System: The asteroid 4 vesta, left, and Tatooine, as seen in Star Wars, on the right. Nasa and wikipedia Locals watched in awe as a fireball exploded and hundreds of meteorite fragments rained down on the city of Tatahouine, Tunisia, on June 27, 1931. Fittingly, …
Wales’s Pisa school test results have declined – but it’s not a true reflection of an education system: Every three years, an early Christmas gift arrives for the global education community from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Programme for International Student Assessments (Pisa) is an international test in which 15 year …
Most investors aren’t paying attention to climate risks – the financial system needs to change: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. For example, extreme sea-level events, where large storm surges and high tides temporarily push the sea much higher than normal, currently occur once a century. However, they are projected …
How a hybrid heating system could lower your bills and shrink your carbon footprint: Hybrid systems combine two or more technologies to heat a house. ThomsonD/Shutterstock To heat your home without damaging the climate, you will need to replace your gas boiler. UK government advisers recommend switching to appliances that run on electricity. However, if …
Africa’s new online foreign exchange system will enable cross-border payments in local currencies – what you need to know: The high cost of making cross border payments on the African continent has driven governments on the continent to seek options of settling trade and other transactions in local currencies. This has given birth to the …
What is federalism? Why Ethiopia uses this system of government and why it’s not perfect: Federalism is a system of government where power is shared between a central authority and smaller regional governments. Many countries adopt federalism to manage ethnic diversity within their borders and help promote unity. There are 25 federal countries globally, representing …
Ethiopia’s education system is in crisis – now’s the time to fix it: The COVID pandemic set pupils back, but the problems in Ethiopia's education system have deep roots. Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency In October 2023, Ethiopia’s minister of education, Berhanu Nega, disclosed several shocking figures on the outcomes of the 12th-grade national examination. Of …