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The Latest Breaking News from The Conversation Africa

South Africans flush toilets with drinkable water: study in Cape Town looked at using seawater instead

As the planet gets hotter and freshwater sources dry up, cities and towns will not be able to continue the global norm of using millions of litres of clean, drinkable water to flush toilets. South Africa’s Water Research Commission recently commissioned a study into using seawater to flush toilets in…

The Conversation

What are the origins of the Asante’s famous kente cloth? I traced its history to find out

Kente is a prestigious royal cloth of Ghana’s Asante people, part of their historical and cultural heritage. But there’s a debate about where it originated: the Bonwire community or the Adanwomase community in the Ashanti Region. The Conversation Africa spoke to African art and culture researcher Dickson Adom about the…

The Conversation

Indigenous futures thinking: 4 approaches to imagining a better world

Indigenous people make up only 6% of the world’s population but manage over a quarter of the world’s land surface. These groups, descended from original occupants of a geographical place and identifying as culturally distinct, possess knowledge about adapting to social and environmental change. Yet their perspectives are rarely included…

The Conversation

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Can nature help solve human problems like climate change? Researchers weigh up pros and cons

Nature-based solutions use nature to solve environmental problems caused by humans, such as global climate change. But not every ecological project counts as a nature-based solution. Some projects only bring about a slight improvement to the environment, while others even cover up environmental damage. Cornelius Okello and Timothy A. Downing…

The Conversation

Global trade in wild animals is soaring – South Africa’s laws aren’t doing enough to prevent harm

The quantity and complexity of commercial wildlife trade laws has grown globally over the past century. A new study examines wildlife trade laws in 11 countries and finds that a country’s Global Biodiversity Index does not correlate with the extent of its legislation that addresses the trade in wildlife. The…

The Conversation

Nigeria recalled all its ambassadors a year ago and has not replaced them – international isolation looms

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has yet to replace the ambassadors he recalled a year ago, leaving only the country’s UN permanent representative. Nigeria has 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates. The Conversation Africa asked Sheriff Folarin, an international relations expert and the author…

The Conversation

Victory for women’s rights in Ghana as affirmative action law is passed – what must happen next

The passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill by the country’s parliament on 9 August 2024 marked a victory for women’s rights in Ghana. The bill, which has been years in the making, is the result of several actors, allies and activists lobbying and protesting for over a decade.…

The Conversation

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Rick Turner and Steve Biko were leading liberation thinkers in 1970s South Africa – why their ideas still matter

Steve Biko was undoubtedly the most influential South African liberation struggle theorist and activist of the 1970s. Rick Turner was arguably among the most effectual white anti-apartheid activists of the era. Biko espoused black consciousness while Turner was a Marxist philosopher. Biko (30) was murdered by apartheid police in 1977.…

The Conversation

The Conversation Africa condemns harassment of West Africa editor Adejuwon Soyinka

The Conversation Africa condemns the harassment of its West Africa editor, Adejuwon Soyinka, by Nigeria’s Department of State Security operatives.

The Conversation

Ghana is planning its first nuclear energy plant: what’s behind the decision

Ghana is considering bids from five companies for the construction of what would be its first nuclear power plant. The companies are: France’s EDF, US-based NuScale Power and Regnum Technology Group; China National Nuclear Corporation; South Korea’s Kepco and its subsidiary Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Corporation; and Russia’s Rosatom. The…

The Conversation

Ghana’s economic crisis was caused by government borrowing - the central bank did the best it could: economist

Ghana is going through its worst economic crisis in a generation. The past two years have seen record high inflation in the country. Ghana’s central bank (the Bank of Ghana) has been criticised in some quarters for its role in the country’s economic malaise, which has hit the profitability of…

The Conversation

Naira is in crisis but cryptocurrency isn’t to blame – Nigeria needs consistent policy

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission is considering tighter controls to combat illegal trading in digital assets, including cryptocurrencies. The Conversation Africa asked Iwa Salami, a researcher in regulatory frameworks for crypto-assets, to explain how best Nigeria can manage cryptocurrency.

The Conversation

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students need more support from their universities – South Africa study

Adjusting to university life tends to be tough no matter who you are. But what happens when deafness makes the usual demands even more difficult? Deaf students or those who are hard of hearing need extra accessibility measures to ensure they’re able to participate in even basic academic activities like…

The Conversation

Chad hepatitis E outbreak: how the dangerous liver disease spreads and how it can be treated

The World Health Organization recently announced an outbreak of hepatitis E in the eastern Ouaddai province of Chad. Between January and April 2024, 2,093 suspected hepatitis E cases were reported from two health districts. The Conversation Africa asked Kolawole Oluseyi Akande, a consultant gastroenterologist and hepatologist, to explain the causes,…

The Conversation

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Water crisis in South Africa: damning report finds 46% contamination, 67% of treatment works near to breaking down

A new report by South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation paints a grim picture of the quality of the country’s drinking water, and its water infrastructure. The Blue Drop Audit Report is meant to ensure that water service authorities are held accountable for providing safe drinking water. The Conversation…

The Conversation

Ghana wants to restrict imports on 22 products – an economist explains how, why and what else must be done

Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry has tabled in parliament a proposed ban or restrictions on imports of certain goods, including rice, sugar, poultry, fruit juices and animal intestines (tripe). The proposed legislation empowers the trade minister to issue licences to potential importers of goods. Critics of the policy say…

The Conversation

Nigeria’s women vice-chancellors: I know what it’s like to be one, and why there are so few

The secretary-general of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors in Nigeria recently disclosed that only 38 women have been vice-chancellors of universities in Nigeria since 1960, out of more than 720 in total. The Conversation Africa asked Ekanem Braide, the Nigerian Academy of Science president and a former vice-chancellor, why this is…

The Conversation

Bird flu in South Africa: expert explains what's behind the chicken crisis and what must be done about it

An outbreak of avian flu – a highly contagious viral infection that affects wild birds as well as poultry – has hit poultry farms in South Africa. Two different strains are causing outbreaks in the country – A(H5N1) and influenza A(H7N6). A specialist in poultry health, Shahn Bisschop, answers some…

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The Conversation

Between state and mosque: new book explores the turbulent history of Islamic politics in Mozambique

Mozambique is a multi-religious southern African nation with excellent relations between faiths. Relations between Muslims and the state have been good too. But the situation became more complicated in 2017 when a bloody jihadist insurgency broke out in the north. Eric Morier-Genoud has published extensively on politics and religion in…

The Conversation

South Africa has one of the strongest navies in Africa: its strengths and weaknesses

The deaths of three members of the South African Navy (SA Navy) on 20 September 2023, when a freak wave swept them off the deck of the submarine SAS Manthatisi, has put the spotlight on the organisation and its work. André Wessels is a military historian; his latest book is…

The Conversation

South Africa's destructive storm surges: geoscientist reveals the 3 factors that drove them

A series of powerful tidal surges battered coastal areas in South Africa’s Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces over the weekend of 16 September. One person died; cars, homes and businesses were damaged. The Conversation Africa asked Jasper Knight, a geoscientist who researches coastal processes, to explain what happened.

The Conversation

South Africa can't crack the inequality curse. Why, and what can be done

South Africa is ranked one of the most unequal societies in the world. The Conversation Africa spoke to Imraan Valodia, the Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, about inequality in South Africa.

The Conversation

Nigeria's elections were once again disputed in court, a stark reminder of a weak electoral system

Nigeria’s presidential election tribunal on 6 September affirmed President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the disputed February 2023 polls, dismissing the petitions of three political parties. The Labour Party had filed its petition on 21 March; the next day the Peoples Democratic Party and the Allied Peoples Movement followed with theirs.…

The Conversation

What caused Morocco's earthquake? A geologist studying the Atlas mountains explains

The epicentre of Morocco’s devastating earthquake on 8 September was in the High Atlas Mountains, about 71km south-west of Marrakesh. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked Jesús Galindo-Zaldivar, who has been carrying out research on the formation of the Atlas mountains and the geology of the area, about the…

The Conversation

Morocco's earthquake wasn't unexpected – building codes must plan for them

More than 2,000 people died when a powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Morocco on 8 September. The epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km (44 miles) south-west of Marrakesh. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa, asked José A. Peláez, a professor in geophysics who has carried out research on…

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