In Africa, a novel and affordable meningitis vaccine shows promise
The Serum Institute of India and global health organization Path successfully tested a highly effective and affordable meningitis vaccine in Africa, in a ground-breaking development. The NmCV-5 vaccine has the ability to protect against the five primary meningococcal disease strains found in Read More...
Being human together
The African equivalent to Rene Descartes’s famous dictum, “I think, therefore I am,” which is the foundation of much modern Western culture, is called ubuntu and goes something like this: “We are, therefore I am.” Or: “I exist to the extent that others acknowledge and respect Read More...
Pufferfish-inspired houses help lake village adapt to sea-level rise
We decided to dust off this older article with an incredible solution to sea-level rise. Situated entirely on water, the lake village of Ganvie in Benin is often dubbed the “Venice of Africa”. And just like the historical Italian city, the village is increasingly threatened by sea-level Read More...
UN experts and analysts plan to reinvigorate the “Great Green Wall”
The African Great Green Wall is a titanic ambition to restore an 8,000 square kilometer expanse across the continent, from Djibouti in the East to Senegal in the West. In the face of increasing desertification from climate change, the initiative aims to restore 100 million hectares (386,000 square Read More...
Here’s why the world map you know is wrong
Most people lucky enough to receive an education will have seen the 2D printed projection of a map of the Earth. This image has allowed people everywhere to learn about our big wide world, all from one piece of paper. Though sorry to break it to you, these aren’t actually the true proportions of Read More...
Ancient humans wandered Ethiopia long before previously predicted
Out of Africa One of the most prevalent questions in the human psyche is “where did we come from?”. People have different evolutionary theories about the exact movements and locations of early Homo sapiens, though it is widely accepted that Africa was our species' birthplace. Numerous Read More...
Pandemic spurs surge in African medical tech
Tech innovations have helped improve food resilience in countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia, but a new study indicates that health tech is also expanding rapidly across Africa, spurred by the pandemic. More than 60 new and existing private firms now offer health products to consumers and medical Read More...
Botswana decriminalizes homosexuality
Back in 2019, campaigners in Botswana fought to remove jail sentences for those caught in same-sex relationships, arguing that the punishment (which, since 1965, is up to seven years in prison) is unconstitutional. The country’s High Court ruled in favor of the campaigners much to their Read More...
How a self-taught electrician in Malawi brought electricity to his village
According to UN-backed Sustainable Energy for All, only 11 percent of Malawi’s population of 19 million people have access to electricity, making it one of the least electrified nations in the world. The people of the Yobe Nkosi village are part of the 96 percent of the country’s rural Read More...
Researchers discover ancient four-legged whale in Egypt
While it’s rather difficult to picture whales outside their vast marine habitats, the early ancestors of these gigantic creatures were actually terrestrial — and a recent discovery of new four-legged whale species brings to light more exciting evidence about the animals’ evolution from land Read More...