Latest Stories from Derrick
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...
UN reports highlight sexual violence crisis against children in Sudan
As the civil war in Sudan continues, the United Nations recently released a troubling report detailing a rise in sexual exploitation of children. Sudan’s civil war that has been waged between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has brought extreme abuses against children among the other things, says latest reports. Between 2023 to now, over the period when the civil war in Sudan exploded, the...
I attended CGIAR Science Week at UN Headquarters in Nairobi
It was an incredible learning experience to attend the inaugural CGIAR Science Week held at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi. Last week, over 13,000 participants convened at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya to address the food, land and water systems' key challenges against the threat of climate change. Several scientists, researchers, global leaders - including youth leaders - were present for this inaugural event. The week began with...
