Latest Stories from Derrick
I attended SB62 and was disappointed by the Africa agenda ahead of COP30
As the curtains fall on the UN’s 62nd session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) in Bonn, Germany, one thing is clear: Africa is running out of patience. Hailed as the technical prelude to COP30 in Brazil, SB62 was meant to set the tone for what many hope will be a historic climate summit. For Africa, and that matter, much of the permanent Global South, it seemed just another...
Report reveals Africa’s child labour crisis has worsened
According to the International Labour Organization and UNICEF's 2024 Global Estimates on Child Labour, about 138 million children are forced into labour all over the world, Africa accounting for 63%. The International Labour Organization report indicates that sub-Saharan Africa has 87 million of the more than 100 million child workers that live in the region. It is home to nearly two-thirds of the world's child laborers. Despite progress over the...
Report reveals air pollution is killing thousands in South Africa
Greenpeace Africa has raised the alarm on deadly air pollution causing many early deaths of more than 42,000 South Africans every year. In 2023, an estimated 16,000 people died in Gauteng due to toxic air. That represents approximately 44 deaths daily, all attributed to the air people breathe in South Africa. The document, which evaluates the economic and health implications of South Africa's poor air quality, further refers to the...
Intense floods signal Nigeria’s growing climate crisis
Last weekend, a tragedy hit the town of Mokwa in central Nigeria. Over 150 lives were lost in floods that experts call the worst the area has seen in 60 years. Heavy downpours flooded Mokwa in central Nigeria, which led to the submergence of houses, destruction of the sources of livelihoods, and the displacement of thousands of people. The enormity of the disaster has dominated discussions across the country and brought...
Bohlale Mphahlele’s battle against Gender-Based Violence in South Africa
With gender-based violence continuing to be a serious problem in South Africa, organisations and young entrepreneurs are looking for innovative ways to ensure greater safety for women and girls. South Africa faces high rates of gender-based violence (GBV). Bohlale Mphahlele, a 21-year-old tech whiz from the country, aims to make society safer. When she was 16 and still in high school, Bohlale created the 'Alerting Earpiece'. This gadget looks like an...
Nigerian students build AI to detect fruit ripeness and reduce waste
At Caleb University in Lagos, Nigeria, three students are tackling one of agriculture’s oldest and most overlooked problems, determining fruit ripeness. The trio has developed an AI-powered app that can instantly assess whether a mango is ripe, underripe, or rotten, a breakthrough that could drastically cut post-harvest losses and transform fruit quality assessment in Africa. Their app, which uses a combination of computer vision and machine learning, works by analyzing...
The deaf-led startup tackling deafness in rural Africa and beyond
In a world where hearing determines connection, education, and opportunity, deafness in off-grid regions of Africa tends to equal living in silence and solitude. But a pioneering startup in Botswana is rewriting this narrative, one solar-powered hearing aid at a time. Deaftronics, a proudly deaf-owned and operated business, developed the world's first solar-powered hearing aids, a groundbreaking innovation that addresses the challenges being faced by millions of hearing-impaired children...
Namibia to offer free university education from 2026
In a move set to transform the future of its youth, Namibia has announced that university and vocational education at public institutions will be free from next year.
The government decision in Namibia to give free university education is a ground-breaking step that will positively impact the economic and social directions of the country.
As of today, the unemployment rate among young people in the country is a worrying
Nearly all of the world’s coral reefs are being hit by mass bleaching
The large-scale bleaching of coral reefs is being observed from diverse locations such as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to the shallow reefs of the Caribbean and the coastal stretches of East Africa. An underwater crisis is unfolding silently, far from the global spotlight. A recent report from the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) revealed that 84% of the world's coral reefs are being hit by an ongoing...
Documentary by BBC Africa Eye triggers national reflection in Kenya
A new round of political debate and public outrage has swept across Kenya in the wake of the release of the explosive BBC Africa Eye documentary ‘Blood Parliament.’ BBC Africa Eye's new documentary 'Blood Parliament' delves into the chilling events of July 2024 amid protests against Kenya’s contested Finance Bill. It has exposed layers of brutality and prompted questions about state accountability, democratic rights, and police violence. The film is a...
