In On Africa IOA
Will President Morsi’s consolidation of political power bring Egypt forward in 2013?
6th February 2013 The year 2012 proved to be a mixed experience for Egypt and President Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government. While Morsi received both... →
Connecting disability and equality: Beyond recognition to the challenges of implementation
5th February 2013 Recognising equal human rights for minority groups has been on the rise in the past several decades, especially following World War II when the... →
Asian and African values: The problem of human rights
4th February 2013 Do ‘African values’ exist, and can they, at least in part, be attributable to Africa’s poor human rights record? Our understanding of human rights... →
The ‘Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative’ – Slingshot African maritime education into a new orbit - Part 2
1st February 2013 Part 1 of this paper first looked at a possible concept aimed at the fusion and acceleration of these developments by way of the Maritime Education... →
The ‘Maritime Education and Awareness Initiative’ – Slingshot African maritime education into a new orbit - Part 1
31st January 2013 The central theme of this paper argues that maritime counter piracy activities at sea must be supported and reinforced by a core of highly skilled... →
Côte d’Ivoire’s ‘blood beans’: Big men politics, conflict and environmental degradation in the land of cocoa
30th January 2013 On 11 April 2011, the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), backed by French military troops, arrested the long-time partner of... →
The African Union: A noble idea or an effective provider of peace and security on the African continent?
29th January 2013 The history of the African Union (AU) started on 25 May 1963, when its predecessor, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), was established in... →
Historical perspective: Sino-African relations expressed through Chinese propaganda posters
28th January 2013 The Sino-African relationship has emerged as a new hot topic of conversation among scholars, politicians and the international media. Current... →
Financial inclusion in Africa: What role for microfinance?
25th January 2013 About 40% of the African population still lives under the poverty line.(2) Unfortunately, the rate of poverty reduction has not kept up with... →
Rural areas in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: The right to access safe drinking water and sanitation denied?
24th January 2013 In South Africa (SA), it is estimated that 16 million people do not have access to adequate sanitation, while 3.5 million do not have access to... →
From silos to systems: Dealing with population health challenges in the world today
23rd January 2013 In a recent blog post,(2) Devi Sridhar draws attention to the fragmentation that has accompanied the interpretation and implementation of the... →
Protection of populations from exposure to second-hand smoke in Africa: Implementation challenges
22nd January 2013 It is estimated that worldwide, about 6 million people die from tobacco use each year, both from direct tobacco use and second-hand tobacco smoke... →
African airlines: Looking beyond the statistics
21st January 2013 In the last several decades aeroplanes have become a significant means of travel and transport across Africa, both commercially and privately, and... →
Great expectations: Can President Mohamud create a more stable Somalia in 2013?
18th January 2013 “We are much better than to be called terrorists, better than to be branded as pirates, better than having the largest refugee camps in the world... →
Mental health in Ghana: A rights violation in action
16th January 2013 The concept of mental health remains ignored in many developing countries, where basic primary healthcare needs are additionally neglected. The... →
Blue industrialisation: Issues in aquaculture and Africa
8th January 2013 A hallmark of modernity is the mastery of nature by man to fulfil needs, and the harnessing of technology to overcome the problem of scarcity.(2)... →
All that glitters can have a foul back side: Mercury and gold mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
12th December 2012 The ‘resource curse’, or ‘paradox of plenty’, refers to the notion that countries with abundant natural wealth often tend to develop slower than... →
Deep wounds heal slowly in Côte d'Ivoire
11th December 2012 The contested Presidential elections in November 2010 provided the impetus for a violent and prolonged expression of ethnic, religious, and... →
Violence and gang youth in South Africa: More complex than 'black menace'
10th December 2012 The prevalence of young men in South Africa’s criminal statistics, along with ongoing racial tensions in the country, has contributed to the... →
Housing our people: Developing adequate housing for Africans
7th December 2012 Africa is the second most populous continent with over one billion inhabitants.(2) It has the highest population growth rate in the world and in... →
Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding exclusive breastfeeding in Southern Africa - Part 2
6th December 2012 Only 38% of children less than six months of age in the developing world are exclusively breastfed.(2) This very low rate in the uptake of a... →
Examining outbound Chinese tourism: Implications for Africa
4th December 2012 When it comes to business or the economy, the Chinese are everywhere,(2) and it is becoming increasingly true with regards to tourism and travel as... →
Africa and the first Millennium Development Goal: A contemporary perspective
3rd December 2012 The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) were adopted by the United Nations in 2001 as key targets for the developing world. These goals are also... →
Scramble for energy resources: The prospects for Sino-Nigerian cooperation
27th November 2012 China’s presence on the African continent has been widely acknowledged and debated, with financial transactions, infrastructure development and new... →
The Kony 2012 documentary: An avant-garde approach to justice - Part 2
26th November 2012 Part 1 (click here to read) of this paper offered a historical context about Kony and the LRA conflict. Part 2 of this paper provides an in-depth... →
The Kony 2012 documentary: An avant-garde approach to justice - Part 1
23rd November 2012 Click here to read Part 2 of this discussion paper On 5 March 2012, people all over the globe – particularly those adapted to the Internet’s social... →
Africa must overcome barriers to intra-African trade to boost growth
22nd November 2012 Trade has always been a very important issue for most nations. Countries exchange goods and services to gain access to products they would... →
Performance-based financing for health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: What have we learnt so far? - Part 2
21st November 2012 In a recent World Health Organisation bulletin, Atle et al. draw attention to the complexity surrounding studying and understanding... →
Fracking in the Karoo: A step in the right direction?
20th November 2012 The production of commercial shale gas has been regarded as a major breakthrough in the oil and gas industry in the recent decade. Shale gas is an... →
Constructing motherhood: The Volksmoeder in Nationalist South Africa
19th November 2012 Gender politics have seen many forms, shapes and developments over the centuries and all over the world, but there are few studies focusing on the... →
When the occult meets the criminal: The connection between human trafficking and witchcraft
16th November 2012 Human trafficking is a recognisable and growing problem worldwide. The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) 2012 update on the global estimate... →
African elections review 2012
15th November 2012 A number of African countries have attempted to consolidate their democracies by scheduling presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2012.... →
Securing Sudan and South Sudan’s economic and political futures: The real value of oil
13th November 2012 On 9 July 2011, the world’s newest nation was born. The Republic of Sudan had been in conflict for the majority of its independence since 1956.... →
The arms trade in Africa: Would an Arms Trade Treaty have a real impact?
9th November 2012 The African continent has long been wracked by conflicts spurred on by the easy availability of weapons through both the licensed and illicit arms... →
China’s recipe for successful development: Challenging the traditional notions of aid in Africa
8th November 2012 For the last decade, the Chinese presence in Africa has received international attention and has been tainted by controversy. China’s presence in... →
Performance-based financing for health systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: What have we learnt so far? - Part 1
7th November 2012 Over the past decade, various models of financing based on performance have been introduced in more than 20 African countries. Urged on largely by... →
Shedding light on the shadow economy: Business and strategy in Africa’s informal markets
6th November 2012 The large informal sector in African economies communicates a demand-supply equation for entrepreneurs that promises profit through hidden... →
Stepping forward or stepping back? An overview of Women’s rights in relation to the Arab Uprisings - Part 2
5th November 2012 The events which make up the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ mark a significant chapter in modern history. In less than two years, four dictators have been... →
Sustainable consumption: Making the meat industry globally sustainable
2nd November 2012 Humans are typically described as omnivores. The word omni is Latin for ‘all’or ‘everything’, and vore stems from the Latin word vorare, which... →
Kenya: Involvement of the ICC in the 2007 post-election violence
30th October 2012 Subsequent to the disputed elections of 27 December 2007, Kenya was engulfed by post-election violence (PEV) which lasted for about a month. More... →
Rising inequality in South Africa: Drivers, trends and policy responses
29th October 2012 In the 1998 Parliamentary debate on reconciliation and nation-building, then Deputy President Thabo Mbeki famously argued that South Africa... →
