The NEF is excited to announce breakthroughs in scientific discoveries in Africa. A recent article highlighted that a new malaria vaccine shows promise in Kenya. The RTS vaccine prevents the malaria parasite from infecting, maturing and multiplying in the liver, from which it typically re-enters the blood and infects red blood cells. “We saw a […]
Category: Blog
“Africa Needs Science, Not Aid”
The claim is a bold one. Africa needs science, not aid. While Africa continues to experience an economic boom, with Nigeria leading as the continent’s largest economy, its growth is based largely on extraction of natural resources by foreign firms rather than boosting industrial productivity. Authors Nkem Khumbah and Melvin Foote make the point that […]
‘Exciting’ drug flushes out HIV
HIV can become part of someone’s DNA and lie dormant for decades, making a cure impossible. Early stage research in six people, reported at the Aids 2014 conference, shows that low-dose chemotherapy can awaken the virus. Experts said it was a promising start, but it was unlikely the drug would work on its own to […]
GM’s potential in Africa impeded by ‘dysfunctional debate’
Opportunities to enhance crop yields and reduce poverty in Africa are being lost because of a “polarised public debate” on the continent, according to a report released this week (21 July) by international policy institute Chatham House. Genetic modification (GM) research projects remain stuck at the field trial stage due to governments’ fears keeping the […]
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Cambridge diagnostic tool offers on-the-spot HIV testing to millions living with HIV in Africa
A new trans-formative point-of-care diagnostic which gives instant results for the detection of genetic material from the HIV virus is being rolled out across Africa. The small, highly portable machine – known as SAMBA II – will help transform the lives of millions, especially HIV exposed infants who have a one in two chance of […]
Equipping girls with science to drive change
From behind the walls of a humble-looking building in Bali, a residential neighbourhood of Doula, Cameroon’s fast-paced economic hub, comes a steady, low hum. It emanates from around 20 women — avid learners immersed in scientific theory and hands-on practice. Read more […]
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New vaccine against five livestock diseases in progress
Scientists in South Africa are developing a combination vaccine with the potential to offer protection against five major livestock diseases. Read more […]
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Gender equality for the environment: An unfinished agenda
The first-ever United Nations Environment Assembly, that took place in Nairobi, Kenya, last month (23-27 June), came at a historic conjunction of events, as the international community discusses a new generation of Sustainable Development Goals and a post-2015 development agenda that will build on earlier successes and address gaps left over from the Millennium Development […]
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UN to unveil panel for ‘breakthrough’ Technology Bank
A “breakthrough” UN initiative for transferring technology and building scientific capacity in the least developed countries (LDCs) will move closer in “a matter of weeks” when a panel to flesh out the proposals is announced, says an official close to the process. The high-level panel will consist of around a dozen experts from various backgrounds, […]
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Opening up development ‘Without Borders’
Balthazar Sieders and Mike Martel spend their days cycling along the coast of Africa, stopping here and there to offer free advice on computer coding to people who need it. The duo have called themselves Coders Without Borders, and they’re part of a trend. More than four decades after Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was formed, […]