Africa Science Focus

Episode 38   With millions of tonnes of plastic waste produced each year on the continent, Africa Science Focus investigates how communities are managing this plastic tsunami.  This week, we speak to a team who set sail across Lake Victoria in a dhow made of recycled plastics and flip flops, and our reporter Michael Kaloki meets with activist James Wakibia, who’s taking his campaign against single...

Episode 37   Africa’s prisons are hotbeds of disease and hunger  —  problems that have been heightened by COVID-19, a lack of resources and poor planning, health and rights advocates tell Africa Science Focus .   This week, reporter Charles Pensulo speaks to a former inmate of Malawi’s notoriously overcrowded prisons, who tells us what life was like behind the walls. We hear about the public healt...

Episode 36   Cultural and social norms, and myths about how modern contraceptives affect men’s virility are just some of the reasons why the uptake of contraception remains low in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite increasing demand.  This week on Africa Science Focus , Effie Chipeta from the Malawi College of Medicine tells us about the growing demand for contraceptives, while Tazirwa Chipeta speaks abo...

Episode 35 Music is at the heart of many African cultures. Now, music is taking centre stage in health communication and treatment — particularly in rural communities, where access to television, radio, the internet and electricity is limited.  This week on Africa Science Focus, we hear how music can be a game-changer when it comes to fighting disease. Edward Kabuye has been drumming up interest i...

Episode 34 Samia Suluhu Hassan has been sworn in as the president of Tanzania, after the death of President John Magufuli was announced on 17 March. While supporters praised his pursuit of development, Magufuli’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic was controversial.  Africa Science Focus reporter Michael Baruti is in Dar es Salaam, the country’s largest city, to find out what Tanzania’s COVID-19...

Episode 33 With new Ebola outbreaks in Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa Science Focus investigates whether the Ebola virus can be sexually transmitted.   It is understood that the women who were the first reported patients in both countries were married to survivors of previous Ebola outbreaks. Scientists say this possible transmission link needs careful attention, without furth...

Episode 32 Biotechnology, indigenous knowledge, climate change and banana trees. This week, Africa Science Focus sits down with United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity executive secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema to discuss biodiversity and environment on the continent.    With the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration officially launching in June, local solutions and innovations will play a...

Episode 31 About six million people were affected by floods in 2020, from Rwanda to South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania and beyond. Flooding can lead to disease outbreaks, such as cholera, and damage livelihoods, crops and the environment. Why have floods become so bad in East Africa, and what can be done to prevent them?  Africa Science Focus reporter Njenje Chizu speaks to Sally Tembo from t...

Episode 30 Strong health systems are essential for sustainable development, and young people and women are leading the way in creating local solutions to Africa’s health ills. Ahead of the Africa Health Agenda International Conference , 8-10 March, we hear from health leaders who say that digital innovations will accelerate progress towards universal health coverage, giving more people access to q...

Episode 29 Vaccine hesitancy is a global health threat, and health teams in Sub-Saharan Africa are doing everything they can to boost COVID-19 vaccine confidence.  This is the third episode in a special Africa Science Focus series investigating coronavirus vaccine hesitancy. In previous episodes, we heard how COVID-19 cases and deaths had increased across Sub-Saharan Africa, and how myths and misi...

Episode 28 As coronavirus cases rise in Africa and people search for ways to avoid the disease, myths about steaming and herbal cures are quickly spreading. This week on Africa Science Focus, reporter Charles Pensulo speaks to the people who are working to spread the facts, and save lives.  In last week’s episode, Africa Science Focus asked why coronavirus deaths and cases had rapidly increased in...

Episode 27 Coronavirus deaths and cases have surged in Africa in recent months. As Africa Science Focus takes a closer look at the scale of the outbreak, we ask why numbers have increased so rapidly in the region. Reporter Jubiel Zulu speaks to people across Zambia and Malawi to find out what they think about efforts to manage coronavirus and vaccinate their communities against COVID-19. We hear f...

Episode 26 Farmers who lost entire crops to desert locusts in 2020 are facing a fresh wave of the invasive pests. Is there an end in sight to East Africa’s worst locust invasion in 70 years?  This week, Africa Science Focus hears from farmers in Ethiopia who are on the frontlines of the locust resurgence, as millions of people in the region face food shortages and income loss. And, our reporters f...

Episode 25 This week, Africa Science Focus reports on Zambia’s faulty condoms and latex gloves scandal. Health and civil society organisations say the unfolding crisis could have repercussions for the ongoing battle against HIV, and impact trust in condoms and the health system. Reporter Njenje Chizu speaks to Zambians whose lives have been forever changed by the scandal.  Is there something you w...

Episode 24   It might be an idea that makes you squirm, but small-scale farmers in Uganda are getting excited about maggots. Researchers say new studies have shown the larvae of the black soldier fly, which can be found across Sub-Saharan Africa, are a protein-packed feast for chickens, pigs and fish.   This week, Africa Science Focus reporter Joseph Elunya meets farmers who are embracing the bug...

Episode 23  Did your New Year’s resolutions include going for a medical check-up? Across Sub-Saharan Africa, health workers encourage people to think about their wellbeing as the year begins. We hear why this advice is often not followed. And, while the ‘big three’ diseases continue to be a burden in Africa, experts warn that new and emerging health problems are on the horizon.  This week, Africa...

Episode 22    This year, amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, a new show emerged on Africa’s fledgling podcast scene. Tasked with uncovering the voices of scientists in the least-developed countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and sharing stories from their communities, Africa Science Focus has become a must-listen podcast for policymakers, development practitioners, academics and the general public.   Af...

Episode 21  Lake Tanganyika is one of Africa’s Great Lakes. It is an aquatic biodiversity hotspot, containing species that are not found anywhere else in the world. But years of pollution and overfishing have left it degraded, and the lake has been ranked among the most threatened in the world. This week, Africa Science Focus reveals fears that eating contaminated fish caught in Lake Tanganyika ma...

Episode 20  This week, Africa Science Focus is shining a light on disability in Sub-Saharan Africa. We look at how assistive technology can improve the lives of people living with disability and highlight the science and innovation underway in Africa’s disability support sector.     Want to know more about what’s happening in science in Africa? Send us your questions and we’ll find an expert to an...

Episode 19  Preventable maternal and child deaths increased during recent Ebola outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa as women lost access to health services. This week, Africa Science Focus examines the effect COVID-19 is having on maternal health.  “We used to have daily updates, they used to say that as a pregnant woman you are at risk of contracting coronavirus. When it came to attending antenatal I...

Episode 18  Ever wondered if your urine could help with food security in Africa? We go to Malawi this week to hear how a ‘magic liquid’ is helping farmers cope with the high cost of synthetic fertilisers, while keeping the marketplaces cleaner and smelling fresher.  And, we hear from science research gurus Fredros Okumu and Alice Matimba about Your Digital Mentor Podcast , which explores mentoring...

Episode 17  Is labia stretching — also called labia minora elongation — a violation of girls’ and women’s rights, or a harmless cultural practice? To some, it’s a form of female genital mutilation. To others, labia pulling is just part of having a sex life.  This week, Africa Science Focus goes to Zambia to seek answers from women and health experts.  Want to know more about what’s happening in sc...

Episode 16  This week, Africa Science Focus is in The Gambia, talking to women about how gender inequality is affecting their health.  Across much of Sub-Saharan Africa, there are at least five times more male doctors than female doctors, while women are often financially dependent on men. “The access to precious health services depends on men’s decisions,” says Samiratou Ouédraogo, an epidemiolog...

Episode 15  This week on Africa Science Focus , two women narrate their painful experience with obstetric fistula, a devastating birth injury that can be treated with a simple surgery that too many women cannot access.  In Uganda, the Ministry of Health estimates between 140,000 and 200,000 women are living with fistula. The condition impacts the health and wellbeing of both girls and women worldw...

Episode 14  Africa Science Focus takes time this week to reflect on how life issues like divorce take a toll on the mental health of the individual and the need for Africa to create a robust mental health policy. Want to know more about what’s happening in science in Africa? Send us your questions and we’ll find an expert to answer them — text or voice message WhatsApp +254799042513 .   Africa Sci...