African jobs agency Careerbox awarded for 2021 Global Impact Sourcing
Leading non-profit company, Careerbox, has been recognised for its influence in promoting the benefits of Impact Sourcing by the global association. The association represents stakeholders in the outsourcing value chain, International Academic Orientation Programme (IAOP). The company has to date placed over 35,000 previously disadvantaged and unemployed youth and women...
Helpless African frontline health workers die as rich countries stock up vaccines
On January 6, gastroenterologist Leolin Katsidzira received a troubling message from his colleague James Gita Hakim, a heart specialist and noted HIV/Aids researcher. Hakim, chair of the department of medicine at the University of Zimbabwe, had fallen sick and had tested positive for Covid-19. He was admitted to a hospital...
Kenya’s Global Interjapan Ltd joins league of 2,297 AfDB blacklisted firms
A Kenya registered civil engineering company Global Interjapan (Kenya) Limited has been slapped with a 36-month debarment by the African Development Bank Group o for involvement in fraud. The announcement by the African bank means Global Interjapan will be on the dishonourable league of more than 2,297 companies and at...
Lessons from Mexico: How Africa can push for better oil, gas project execution
Mexico’s constitutional reform that injected impetus in the oil and gas industry was swift and it benefited from the support of the major political parties in the country following the Pacto por Mexico (Pact for Mexico) agreed right after the election and signed the day after by President Peña Nieto...
Oil: Mexicans donated money, including livestock, to pay off foreign debt
Once one of the world’s biggest producers, Mexico has had a sweet and sour relationship with the upstream industry. In my experience working in the Mexican oil and gas industry, I witnessed the transition of a nationalised industry, once described by Juan Pardinas, former director of the Mexican Institute on...
Vaccination: Challenge of building ‘herd immunity’
If vaccines do block transmission, and if they remain effective against newer variants of the virus, it might be possible to eliminate the virus in regions where enough people are vaccinated so that they can protect those who are not contributing to herd immunity. A vaccine that is 90 per...
Coronavirus is here to stay even if a vaccine is found
For much of the past year, life in Western Australia has been coronavirus-free. Friends gathered in pubs, people kissed and hugged their relatives, children went to school without temperature checks or wearing masks. The state maintained this enviable position only by placing heavy restrictions on travel and imposing lockdowns –...
African researchers want more say in genomics data
Many human genome studies ask participants to sign a form that gives them little direct control over how their data will be used. But a panel of researchers in Africa says that this can fuel distrust between researchers and participants, and needs to change. This stark message comes in a...
Decarbonisation: Why Africa is investing more and faster in gas, renewable energy
The power sector accounts for up to 41 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions today, with Africa contributing about 2-3 per cent. In parallel, there are still over 580 million people on the continent who do not have access to reliable energy and the demand for electricity is expected...
Wildlife species diminish as trade shoots up even in protected areas
Wildlife trafficking is having a profound negative impact on biodiversity, a new analysis finds. Hunting and trapping to feed international and national trade networks threaten numerous species, the researchers report, even those living in protected areas. “This study adds to the growing body of evidence that commercial wildlife trade is...
