The modernisation of agriculture has been touted by economists and the IMF as a way of reducing poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. But caution about the benefits of the Green Revolution is advisable.
Residents in Nairobi’s urban slums are opting for fast food rather than the healthy alternatives, which is increasing their risk of developing diabetes.
Selina, right, and her friend Mwanaidi play together in a Tanzanian classroom. Children with albinism are very vulnerable to attack, mutilation and murder.
EPA/Johan Baevman
Children living with albinism are very vulnerable to attack, kidnapping, mutilation and murder. In Tanzania, fear is keeping many children away from school and costing them an education.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the 2016 World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. He has drawn flack for seeking a third term.
Reuters/Ruben Sprich
Unlike the third-term fever afflicting the Great Lakes region, Rwanda is not mired in corruption and stagnation. Rwandans were fearful and anxious about what might happen after 2017 without Kagame.
Malawian President Peter Mutharika has promised to fight the corruption that has seen donors withdraw their support for his impoverished nation.
Reuters/Eldson Chagara
Malawi appears to have learnt nothing from the biggest state corruption scandal that rocked the country two years ago, leading to donors withdrawing their support. The same conditions still remain.
Improving maternal mortality and ending preventable deaths in children are some of the health targets in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade/Flickr
Health has secured its place as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. But without clear mechanisms to report, finance or engage other sectors, could more end up as less?
University of Cape Town scientists work in the Drug Discovery and Development Centre. More needs to be done to keep Africa’s scientists on home ground.
Epa/Nic Bothma
If the continent is to grasp the science and technology revolution, then governments should take the lead in both policy formulation and implementation.
A deadly meeting? The potentially lethal viper, Echis carinatus.
Shantanu Kuveskar
The seed industry in sub-Saharan Africa suffers from many challenges. India, which has one of the biggest seed markets in the world, offers some lessons on how these challenges could be overcome.
One child dies every minute from Malaria in Africa.
from shutter stock.com
A new drug that stops the malaria parasite in its tracks, and could be delivered in a single dose, has researchers excited about treatment prospects for the disease.
Despite increases in education attainment, the educated youth in sub-Saharan Africa find that there are no jobs suited to their levels of education.
Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde
School enrolment rates in sub-Saharan Africa have increased markedly in recent years, but it is failing its newly educated young by not creating jobs commensurate with their education.
A ranger looks at the skull of an elephant killed by poachers - a frequent side-effect of development projects that open up remote forests to human access.
Ralph Buij
The G20 has pledged to spend more than US$60 trillion on new infrastructure in the next 15 years, much of which will affect pristine areas. Without a solid plan, the environmental toll could be huge.
By sharing their insights and knowledge, African leaders can improve health throughout the world.
The Aspen Institute/Flickr
Ebola has focused the world’s attention on the challenges of health care in Africa. The continent has 11% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s disease burden. It also has just 1.3% of the global…
There are many African presidents whose age far outstrips that of their peers on other continents. David Cameron (47), Barack Obama (53), François Hollande (60), Merkel (60), Vladimir Putin (61) – these…
Farmers delivering by bicycle at Chandamale milk station in southern Malawi.
Cesar Revoredo-Giha
Governments and donors have tried hard to improve dairy farming in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. Many recognise that it has much potential to boost the economic situation of poor farmers in the region…
French soldiers guard the crash site of Air Algerie flight AH5017 near Goss in Mali.
STR/EPA
The wreckage of AH 5017 lies scattered in the Sahel near the border between Mali and Burkina Faso. As the black boxes of the Air Algérie flight head for France and Paris mediates the aftermath, the crash…
On the surface, 2014 appears to represent “business as usual” for the landscape of South Africa’s electoral politics. The African National Congress (ANC) has secured a fifth straight victory in the latest…
Professor of medicine and deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town