By 2080, millions of species will need to migrate to new regions, even new continents to survive
There are laws of nature that relate to the ways in which we, as humans, behave. As laws of human behaviour, they are both narrower and messier than the broader laws of biology; they are as much tendencies as laws. Yet they are tendencies repeated across times and cultures, tendencies...
The dangers of the future: Nature is an afterthought in our contemplation of what comes next
When we humans imagine the future, it is common to picture ourselves nested within an ecosystem populated by robots, devices and virtual realities. The future is shining and technological. The future is digital, ones and zeros, electricity and invisible connections. The dangers of the future – automation and artificial intelligence...
Prevailing uncertainty in South Sudan makes it difficult to resettle millions of returning refugees, IDPs
Political divides are at the root of the displacement of the Shilluk and must be resolved before sustainable and equitable returns can take place. Yet, if returns are to occur – in the run-up to next year’s polls – various electoral processes will likely lead to violent contestations over administrative...
Africa’s political leadership mounted a robust response helped to mitigate impact of Covid
As omicron continues to make its impact across the globe, scientists in Africa are rapidly learning more about the new coronavirus variant. Omicron was first identified in southern Africa in November. Dr John Nkengasong, the director of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The World’s host Carol Hills...
Why the return of refugees and internally displaced people is such a thorny issue in South Sudan
South Sudan’s government wants millions of people who fled the country’s devastating civil war to return home ahead of national elections tentatively scheduled for 2023. But some humanitarians worry that returns could be risky as violence continues to flare around the country despite a 2018 peace agreement and the subsequent...
Covid management: Too many projects on health and disease in Africa are pursued in silos
Africa’s Covid-19 management proved that building regional control and capability will be key to containing future disease outbreaks. This means strengthening national public-health institutions, such as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the Zambia National Public Health Institute in Lusaka. It also means strengthening and empowering the Africa CDC...
Health experts forecast: How Africa averted 70 million Covid infections, three million deaths
Africa’s achievements, especially in the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, are at least part of the reason the continent was able to mitigate the first and, to some degree, the second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. As of December 13, 2021, around 8.9 million cases of Covid-19 and nearly...
As rest of world grapples with soaring numbers of Covid infections, Africa praised for coordinated response
In the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Africa’s rapid and coordinated response, informed by emerging data, was remarkable. Now, in 2022, as vast vaccination campaigns have enabled the global north to gain some control over the pandemic, Africa lags behind. Since the 1960s, when many African countries gained independence,...
How Ethiopia’s decades-old Tigray conflict evolved into a sequel of human rights abuses and bitter legacy
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesman Getachew Reda has denied that formal Tigrayan forces were involved in the killings unarmed civilians, but said local Tigrayan militias may have committed abuses. Reda did not respond to queries about whether the TPLF would carry out investigations and punish those responsible. In his...
In Ethiopia war, new abuse charges turn spotlight on Tigrayan former rulers
In the dappled shadows of a glade of cypress and eucalyptus, a deacon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church adjusted his roughly-spun cotton shawl and knelt by a white-washed grave. “He was my best friend,” Betsiha Derresse said. “We did everything together – sleep, work.” In August, civil war reached the...
