The violence wreaked its damage because South Africa’s journey to democracy remains incomplete. It sends a sharp message that the country must look its past far more squarely in the eye.
Nigerian naval members sit in a vessel during a multinational maritime exercise.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
For the Deep Blue Project to work the government must address the factors that enable piracy and insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa delivers a speech next to a statue of the late former president Nelson Mandela in Cape Town in 2020.
EPA-EFE/Ruvan Boshoff
Hunger is not the cause of the current social upheaval. But, taken along with other deep-rooted structural inequalities, it provides additional fuel for socio-political conflagration.
Machine learning can change patient care in Nigeria for good.
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South Africa's recent violence is a cause for concern but there are opportunities to build a stronger nation.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrives to cast his vote during the country’s parliamentary elections in Beshasha, Oromia, in June.
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An uncomfortable reality is that looting is perceived by the looters to be socially acceptable and is often encouraged and endorsed within social and community networks.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari shows his COVID-19 certificate after receiving his first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in March 2021.
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Experts assess Nigeria’s response to COVID-19 so far and express worry that the country does not appear to have learnt much; it isn’t prepared for the next pandemic.
About 62% of Sierra Leonean women aged 15-49 have experienced physical or sexual violence.
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After 1994 efforts were made to embed democracy. The focus was on policy and institution-building. What was missing was ensuring all South Africans were on board.
The carving of the Volta region into two was met with resistance.
Felix Krohn/Flickr
South Africa can’t possibly remain the same country in the aftermath of this mayhem. There are just too many storms ahead to simply continue unchanged.
Fuel storage tanks at South Africa’s Durban harbour. Blocking the transport of fuel will stop the transport of food.
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South Africans should not panic about the food system. But authorities will need to act swiftly and assertively to restore stability.
Private armed security officers take a position near a burning barricade during a joint operation with South African Police Service officers in Jeppestown, Johannesburg.
Photo by Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images
Corruption thrives in a destabilised state with weak institutions. South Africa cannot be allowed back to that space because there will be no turning back.
Participants and staff of MSF (Medecins Sans Frontieres) hold lights during a commemoration for victims of attacks.
EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI
There is more support for democracy among African people than is often recognised. Yet this can be undermined by election rigging and is lower in countries like Lesotho, Mozambique and South Africa.
Mothers wait with their babies to receive treatment at a dispensary .
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Kai Mausch, Center for International Forestry Research – World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF); David Harris, Bangor University et Javier Revilla Diez, University of Cologne
Broader local engagement and inclusion of multiple voices could improve development projects
Pupils wear face masks in their classroom while a teacher writes on the board at a school in Kinshasa on August 10, 2020.
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Finding a way to increase the participation of men and fathers in unpaid care work would have an important influence on a more equal distribution between women and men.
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South Africa is quite capable of delivering world-class healthcare to all its citizens. But this is constantly being hampered by an increasingly unconducive environment.