Malawi abolishes death penalty: What it means for southern Africa

As we commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Soweto massacre, young people in South Africa need to have an urgent shift of mind.

High youth unemployment is a burning issue this Youth Month. Creating jobs and economic opportunities for the youth has become a political, economic and social necessity.

South Africa has started the second phase of its COVID-19 vaccine rollout. The aim is to vaccinate essential workers, people in congregate settings such as nursing homes, those over 60 years of age and other vulnerable groups.

Challenges facing South-African youth today span from a number of elements dealt with domestically varying from the corruption scourge to the youth having little or no faith in governance.

The physical appearance of persons with albinism is often the object of erroneous beliefs and myths influenced by superstition, which foster their marginalization and social exclusion, writes Professor Hlengiwe Mkhize.

BLSA has hailed the continuous efforts by the Eyes and Ears initiative (E2), in partnership with the Memeza crime-fighting project, in its fight against crime that is wreaking havoc in our communities, writes Fouche Burgers.

In global politics, humanity often possesses the propensity to swiftly forget about the plight of the less-fortunate societies, writes Abbey Makoe.

In recent years Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, has become Africa’s most attractive tech hub for investors. But that could be imperiled by the government’s decision to suspend Twitter’s operations in the country.

There can be no future if the youth continue to be marginalised, unskilled, unemployed and without hope.  That is a ticking time bomb.

Later this week, I will be travelling to the United Kingdom to attend the G7 Leaders Summit. We have been invited as a guest country together with South Korea, Australia and India. The summit will discuss how to promote future prosperity through free and fair trade, championing shared values and tackling climate change, but the global recovery from COVID-19 is likely to dominate the agenda. 

Many will remember TB Joshua, and his church, from the widely publicised 2014 tragedy in which 116 people died when a church building collapsed in Nigeria. His handling of the tragedy was problematic. He initially claimed that the building’s collapse was caused by a “strange aircraft”.

Child Protection Week started on 1 June as is the case every year, government and civil society will undertake advocacy programmes on children’s rights.

South Africa is a violent country and there is no day that passes without reminding us of this sad reality, writes Ohara Ngoma-Diseko, Commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality.

Instead of being the great leveller, as pandemics have been throughout history, the coronavirus pandemic has revealed and compounded pre-existing inequalities in wealth, race, gender, age, education and geographical location. writes Edward Webster, Distinguished Research Professor, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand

As South Africa marks the start of Youth Month commemorations on Tuesday, SABC News looks at the mental well-being of young people. Trauma Specialist, Janine Shamos calls for the empowerment of parents and teachers on how to tackle tough topics with young people to save them from the suicide scourge.

In the new book Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa, South African author Zukiswa Wanner has contributed a piece titled Do I Make You Uncomfortable? about writing in a white publishing industry.

The onslaught of COVID-19 over the past year was extraordinary and unlike anything the world has ever seen.  Countries all over the globe undertook drastic measures to prioritise individual health and sustaining economic activity amidst the pandemic.

The recent launch of a review report by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE),  indicating general failure of the country’s Emergency Response Action Plan (ERAP), should ideally trigger a much needed public introspection on why, all too often, we churn out an impressive array of strategies, plans and programs of action that often flounder at the point of implementation and service delivery, writes Dr. Thabo Rapoo, Research Director at the Commission for Gender Equality.

For all its stutters and missteps, there can be little argument that the European Union (EU) has largely lived up to its ambitious billing: to create stability and growth on a continent that, for a period, was dangerously prone to nationalism and conflict. The question facing Africa is whether the continent’s free trade area can likewise mitigate conflict and forge a prospering Africa.

"I am a firm believer and supporter of strategic groupings of “like-minded” nations that come together to pursue common objectives, as long as such objectives are detrimental to no one and are not laced with malice," writes Abbey Makoe.

A study shows that there have been excess deaths following COVID-19 critical care admission in Africa compared with the global average. And that the mortality of critically ill COVID-19 patients in Africa exceeded that of any other region in the world.

Healthcare workers have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, while the Pfizer vaccine is being rolled out as part of Phase 2 for members of the public. A crucial aspect of the vaccination campaign is tracking adverse reactions.

In a time when the world is focusing on COVID-19 vaccines, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has highlighted the importance of routine immunisations for diseases such as measles, tetanus and polio.

In developing economies, many people are excluded in various ways from financial services. Including them is necessary for three main reasons. It allows financially vulnerable people to improve their lives through economic activity. Growth in the banking market can benefit financial service providers. And when citizens are financially enabled, a country’s economy can advance.

Many African countries still rely heavily on foreign aid. However, several studies have shown that foreign aid has failed to deliver sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.

The right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should urgently seek wise counsel from South Africa’s last President , says Abbey Makoe.

Muslims perform the short “Umrah” pilgrimage at any time of the year, and there could be over 19 million pilgrims each year.

More than 20 Congolese women have accused aid workers of sexual abuse in new claims that include rape and unwanted pregnancies, with United Nations investigators uncovering similar allegations of workers exploiting vulnerable women.

In Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, it is estimated that over 70% of the population live in informal settlements. Many of these have a history rooted in colonial policies whereby the “African native” was a temporary resident of the city. Africans could only live in the city as registered labourers.

COVID-19 is overwhelming hospital oxygen systems. COVID-19 pneumonia creates breathing difficulties leading to low blood oxygen levels (hypoxaemia). Unable to get enough oxygen to supply vital organs, patients with hypoxaemia are at very high risk of death. Supplemental oxygen is the only treatment.