Africa Science Focus

Tanzania’s first female physician says major advances have been made in health and wellbeing in the 50 years that she has worked in medicine. But, as Esther Mwaikambo tells Africa Science Focus, major challenges persist — particularly around women’s access to healthcare. She says breast cancer remains rampant in Africa, and cultural changes are needed to fully eradicate female genital mutilation. ...

Uganda is among the top banana-producing countries in the world, and is home to the much-loved matoke banana — also known as the East African highland banana. But the matoke, along with many of the other banana varieties that are native to Sub-Saharan Africa, is under threat from diseases and pests.   This is where Priver Namanya Bwesigye comes in. This week on Africa Science Focus, reporter Halim...

Community health workers are the backbone of many health systems around the world. But, their contributions to public health are rarely recognised, and many go unpaid. Diana Nambatya Nsubuga, from the non-profit Living Goods , is working with governments across Sub-Saharan Africa to build these community heroes into their public health systems.  Not only is Nsubuga a high-level public health advoc...

Every three seconds, someone around the world is diagnosed with dementia. And cases of dementia are increasing, with the largest burden felt in low- and middle-income countries. But, stigma and misunderstanding still surround dementia in Sub-Saharan Africa, and research and support are underfunded.   Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia affect not only the sufferer, but also their famil...

Eight of the ten countries in the world with the highest rates of child marriage are in Africa. According to the United Nations, 37 per cent of young women in Sub-Saharan Africa are married before they turn 18.   Girls who are married are more likely to drop out of school, while girls with higher levels of education are less likely to be married as a child. This week, biostatistician and maternal...

With nine in every ten new jobs in 2030 expected to require digital skills, graduates in Africa — and young women in particular — without information and communications technology training will be left behind. Nigerian computer scientist Unoma Okorafor is striving to change that.   This week on Africa Science Focus, we find out how the Working to Advance African Women foundation is equipping girls...

Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest maternal mortality rate . While access to health facilities for births is improving for some, many women are still left behind — and the challenges women face during pregnancy and birth have been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic.  In our second season of Africa Science Focus, we’ll be shining the spotlight on the women from across Sub-Saharan Africa...

This week we investigate how tiny plastic pieces known as microplastics are contributing to an increase in potentially fatal diseases caused by fungi.  A recent study conducted in western Kenya found that a number of fungal species accumulate on microplastic particles in the soil that can cause serious medical problems such as swelling in the lungs.  Our reporter, Dann Okoth speaks to mycology exp...

Anopheles stephensi is one of the few malaria mosquitoes that thrives in urban areas because of its ability to find clean water to lay its eggs.    The World Health Organization raised the alarm on urban malaria transmission in 2019, urging aggressive action against Anopheles stephensi, which it described as a “major potential threat” to malaria elimination efforts in Africa.   This week we invest...

Women in low- and middle-income countries are 15 per cent less likely to use mobile internet services than men -- that’s 234 million fewer women than men connected to the worldwide web -- according to a new report. And some of the biggest gender gaps are in Sub-Saharan Africa. This week we ask: what is blocking women from accessing these services? And how can this gender divide be bridged? Our rep...

Culture, traditional knowledge, arts and language influence the development of thought in Africa.  The science landscape is dominated by European languages. This week, we hear how ‘decolonising’ science and translating terms into African languages will help more people to understand, and become involved with, science.  Our reporter, Halima Athumani, speaks to African language experts, while scienc...

In Sub-Saharan Africa, cannabis has been in use for generations but remains illegal in many countries. Now, the debate over medical marijuana and the development of regulated cannabis industries is heating up.   While many who champion the growth of cannabis say the industry could drive Africa’s development, others have questions about whether farmers and communities will be the ones who benefit. ...

Blockchain technology is gaining supporters in Sub-Saharan Africa, and advocates say it could have a growing role in agriculture. This week, our reporter Halima Athumani investigates how blockchain can provide digital identities, access to credit, land and inputs for farmers in Africa.  This is the third and final episode in our AgriAfrica mini-series, where we’ve been digging into the continent’s...

In Africa, unsafe food causes illness, puts pressure on public health systems and hinders progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty and hunger by 2030. According to the World Health Organization, each year about 600 million people around the world become ill after eating contaminated food.  This is the second episode of our new mini-series,AgriAfrica, where we’re digging in...

In Sub-Saharan Africa, on-farm losses of fruits and vegetables were the highest in the world before the pandemic hit, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. The United Nations estimates that an additional 45 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia became acutely food insecure last year.  Over the next three episodes Africa Science Focus will be taking a closer look at food produ...

COVID-19 cases have been surging in Africa since the onset of a third wave in May. The World Health Organization is urging wealthy countries to send vaccine supplies to the continent. But, the health body also reports that some countries in Africa are facing distribution challenges and have doses that are at immediate risk of expiration.  This week, Africa Science Focus investigates why Sub-Sahara...

With the ability to develop knowledge on drugs, agriculture, health and the environment, microscope and imaging technologies could be the next big thing in Africa’s research landscape. But, funding and training are needed to magnify microscopy’s potential benefits.  This week on Africa Science Focus , our reporter Michael Baruti meets the microscope specialists from the newly established African B...

Climate change is already hitting Africa hard – from extreme weather events, to locust plagues , and failed harvests. But, international research and policy bodies, and ‘hot lists’ of influential climate scientists, rarely include African scientists.   With United Nations climate talks set to take place in the United Kingdom in November, Africa Science Focus reporter Michael Kaloki asks whether Af...

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, science and development are being brought together by our creative young thinkers, activists and researchers. At this year’s European Development Days , the #EDD21 Young Leaders — including nine from Africa — will share their ideas and ambitions for a sustainable future with the world.   From the continent’s national parks and major cities, three of these young leaders t...

Episode 44 In Sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is a leading cause of death for children under five and with an estimated 220 million cases worldwide every year, malaria remains a public health crisis.  For some, genetically modified mosquitoes could be a game-changing tool in the fight against malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. But others say that genetic engineering threatens the delicate circ...

Sub-Saharan Africa’s vibrant rainforests support communities, lives, and livelihoods. The drylands — which include grasslands, savannahs and scrublands — are just as important. But, many of these landscapes have become degraded, and are under threat. Our reporter Michael Kaloki investigates what’s being done to rehabilitate and replenish Africa’s forests and drylands. Irene Ojuok, a champion of fa...

This is the final episode in our mini-series ‘Energising Africa’, where we investigate progress towards electricity, infrastructure and network access on the continent.   The United Nations declared internet access a human right in 2016. But network disruptions remain an everyday part of life in Sub-Saharan Africa, and some analysts say there is an increasing trend of governments blocking internet...

Episode 41   This week, we continue with the second episode in our mini-series ‘Energising Africa’, where we investigate progress towards electricity, infrastructure and network access on the continent.   Our reporter Halima Athumani has been mining for information about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. What environmental, social and economic impacts could the world's longest heated crude...

Episode 40 Clean energy can power sustainable economic growth by improving access to knowledge, boosting health and wellbeing, and improving the lives of women and children, the United Nations says. This week on Africa Science Focus , reporter Michael Baruti asks whether universal access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy can be achieved in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, in the face of di...

Episode 39   With the confirmation that malaria parasites in Rwanda have developed resistance to artemisinin — a first-line drug used to treat malaria, which kills around 400,000 people a year worldwide — public health teams in Africa are asking what this could mean for the battle against malaria. Elsewhere on the continent, malaria vaccine trials have reported success.    This week on Africa Scie...