African countries - The African Mirror

Feb

2021

What African countries can expect from Biden: and what they should ask for

PRESIDENT Joe Biden delivered his first public statement on US foreign policy last week. Africa was not mentioned. Does this suggest the continent will be absent from the new administration’s considerations? JOHN J STREMLAU, Honorary Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand I think not. Firstly, the day after his speech, the new president addressed the 34th Summit of the African Union (AU), which was meeting virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He reiterated his commitments to active diplomacy and multilateralism in concert with the AU. All US efforts would be consistent with America’s core democratic values, which are…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Why African countries must invest more in earth sciences

ENVIRONMENT

THE African continent contains some of the world’s richest mineral resources. For instance, the Democratic Republic of Congo produces most of the world’s cobalt; Rwanda, Ethiopia and Mozambique are major contributors to global tantalum output. These minerals are important constituents in modern electronics. WARWICK WILLIAM HASTIE, Senior Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal The continent also has the bulk of global reserves of platinum and palladium, metals which are critical in the rapidly evolving market for renewable energy and electric vehicles. With such resources to hand, African researchers should be contributing significantly to the academic discipline of earth science – the physical…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

African countries differ widely in prenatal HIV testing: why it matters

HEALTH

THE introduction of antiretroviral drugs has resulted in a remarkable decline in mother-to-child transmission of HIV. New infections among children declined by 52% worldwide and 55% in sub-Saharan Africa between 2010 and 2019. ANTHONY IDOWU AJAYI, Postdoctoral Research Scientist, African Population and Health Research Center This is why universal screening of all pregnant women for HIV is so important. If all pregnant women were screened and treated, the risk of mother-to-child transmission could be reduced to less than 5%. Fewer than 5,000 children would be infected globally. But despite the wide availability of testing and treatment, 150,000 children were newly…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

African countries among leaders in the race for gender-balanced cabinets

NEWS

ANASTASIA MOLONEY and NITA BHALLA U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to appoint a diverse cabinet that "looks like America," promising to bring more women into the top echelons of government. The incoming Democrat has named Avril Haines to be director of national intelligence and Janet Yellen as secretary of the Department of Treasury - both would be the first women to hold those positions. Biden's promise of a more gender-balanced cabinet follows examples set in several countries spanning the globe. Here are seven countries already leading the way: RWANDA The small East African nation of Rwanda boasts by far…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Strong leadership fought COVID-19 in Africa: the next step is to harness research

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

AFRICAN countries are still reeling from the effect of measures, such as lockdowns, taken to contain the spread of COVID-19. Though painful, they were a vital part of the successful public health response mounted by many African leaders. MONIQUE WASUNNA, Director, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative Africa Regional Office and Researcher, Kenya Medical Research Institute The quick responses by most African countries meant that they were able to avoid the large-scale loss of life seen elsewhere. The 1.8 million infections and 44,000 deaths recorded on the continent by mid-November are a great loss. They are, nevertheless, far from the catastrophic…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

African countries need more air quality data – and sharing it unlocks its benefits

ENVIRONMENT

REBECCA GARLAND, Principal Researcher in Climate and Air Quality Modelling Research Group, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research PAUL PLANTINGA, Research Specialist: Digital Strategies and Engagement, Human Sciences Research Council THE harm that air pollution is doing on the African continent seems to be growing. Estimates of premature mortality attributed to air pollution have increased from about 570,000 in 1990 to over 700,000 in 2013. In the same period, premature deaths from unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and childhood malnutrition have decreased across Africa. Many challenges also remain for the continent to reach the Sustainable Development Goals related to air quality.…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

America’s inflection point: four key things Africa must watch for

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

JOHN J STREMLAU, Honorary Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand AFRICAN scholars and policymakers face a tough challenge in analysing how the US presidential election on 3 November might affect Africa-US relations. This is because of the extreme polarisation of politics that has been growing for decades in the US. Simultaneous national crises have made matters worse. These suddenly erupted over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, its impact on the economy, and fresh evidence of white racism towards black Americans. In deeply divided America, four clusters of political political conflicts arise over issues of national identity, sustainable…