Each week, we round up the best writings from across online platforms. These rise above regular reportage, highlighting current issues, the people and the continent – Africa.
Here are the ones that caught our attention:
How Can You Social Distance When You Share a Toilet With Your Neighbor?
The AIDS crisis in South Africa taught us that the severity of an epidemic is linked to social determinants such as poverty, gender inequality and violent conflict. In Gita Ramjee’s memory, let us not forget this as we reckon with Covid-19 in the country and the rest of the continent.
Skull Fossils in Cave Show Mix of Human Relatives Roamed South Africa
In Science on Thursday, they published a paper identifying the skullcap and teeth of another Paranthropus robustus, as well as the cranium of our direct ancestor, Homo erectus. Both specimens date to between 1.95 and 2.04 million years ago. If confirmed, the findings would be the oldest known Paranthropus robustus, as well as the oldest known Homo erectus, nudging out the next oldest known specimen by 150,000 to 200,000 years.
Is Malawi an ‘African exception’?
Amid growing dictatorial tendencies among countries in southern Africa and a continuing trend among African presidents to ignore constitutions and seek to abolish barriers to re-election, Malawi seems to stand out.
Altering Our Perspective On Education Forever
This is the moment that we have been waiting for in the education reform movement. Students taking ownership of their learning, sifting through the schooling material – finding out what they like, deciphering how they learn and what help they need from their teachers and parents. Their learning becomes more personalised and now that this transformation has begun, there is no turning back to how things used to be.
Africa is lucky with Corona; Can it hold out a viral digital attack?
If a developed superpower can be suspected of rigging the presidential election of another superpower thereby imposing leadership on it against the wish of the people, why would inflicting a lesser sin (economic rather than state capture) on a continent whose ‘role’ for centuries has been to be exploited, be far-fetched?
