Pasha - from The Conversation Africa

Welcome to Pasha, The Conversation Africa’s brand new podcast. In the spirit of The Conversation, Pasha – which means to inform in Swahili – will be bringing you some of the best and brightest research from academics across the continent. After nearly four years of publishing expert research, we’re thrilled to be bringing our own brand of smart journalism to a new audio format. Each episode will collect stories and commentary on a given theme.

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Episodes

Pasha 62: Will South Africa run out of food during the coronavirus lockdown?

shutterstock Since South Africa has been placed in lockdown to limit the spread of COVID-19, many people have been panic buying and stockpiling groceries. As a result, many of the grocery stores in the country have some empty shelves. Questions about whether South Africa will run out of food have been doing the rounds. To address these questions, Professor Johann Kirsten, director of the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch University, chats to Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agr...

Apr 15, 2020•7 min

Pasha 61: The latest on Nigeria and COVID-19

GettyImages Nigeria has seen a rise in cases of COVID-19 as more tests are done. But the way this information is presented is important. If it’s not balanced it can lead to the spread of panic and fear. The public needs to focus instead on instructions given by leaders. These include washing hands, social distancing and abiding by lockdown rules. In today’s episode of Pasha, Doyin Odubanjo, executive secretary at the Nigerian Academy of Science, discusses COVID-19 in Nigeria. Photo: Covid-19 sta...

Apr 08, 2020•7 min

Pasha 60: The challenges facing African countries testing for COVID-19

GettyImages Testing for COVID-19 is crucial in understanding how many people have the disease and how fast and far it’s spreading. But testing comes with challenges, including test kit production and logistics constraints, and how best to protect healthcare workers. There are testing initiatives under way in many African countries, including a drive-through concept in Kenya. In today’s episode of Pasha, Ahmed Kalebi, chief consultant pathologist at Lancet Kenya and honorary lecturer at the depar...

Apr 01, 2020•11 min

Pasha 59: Let’s talk about a COVID-19 vaccine

f a o COVID-19 has taken the world by storm. So many countries are affected by the disease , with many lives lost and many people infected. Many countries and organisations are frantically searching for a vaccine or treatment. But how far away from this are we? In today’s episode of Pasha, Yap Boum, a professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda, discusses what it takes to find a vaccine and realistically how far we are from one. Photo: A word cl...

Mar 25, 2020•5 min

Pasha 58: South Africa’s fruit industry and the opportunities it presents

shutterstock South Africa’s fruit industry has tremendous potential. The industry is already a global player, thanks to its citrus exports. But there is scope for other fruit such as berries and avocados. It’s important to tap into this potential, given that fruit exports have the ability to create jobs. To do this, a few things need to be addressed, such as bottlenecks at the ports and an increase in research and development. In today’s episode of Pasha, Shingie Chisoro-Dube, economist and rese...

Mar 18, 2020•7 min

Pasha 57: Adam Habib on higher education in South Africa

shutterstock Higher education in South Africa has undergone some tough times in recent years. There have been numerous protests over fees and affordability. One of the university leaders at the centre of the debates was Adam Habib, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. In today’s episode of Pasha he looks at the challenges of higher education in South Africa. He also discusses solutions and the lessons the country should take from the protests. Pho...

Mar 11, 2020•9 min

Pasha 56: Why gender equity in health matters

shutterstock In global health, it’s important that women have an equal opportunity to have their voices heard in setting agendas and designing interventions. Not listening to women can mean that important contributions are missed. Women play a crucial role in delivering important health services and are the backbone of health. In today’s episode of Pasha, Rhoda Wanyenze, Dean of Makerere University School of Public Health, discusses how crucial it is for women to be acknowledged in global health...

Mar 04, 2020•8 min

Pasha 55: South Africa and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

shutterstock The global hype around the Fourth Industrial Revolution has grabbed South Africa as well. President Cyril Ramaphosa is firmly behind it as the belief is that it can help advance economies and increase job opportunities. But in countries like South Africa where inequality is a problem, adding advanced technologies might divide the country further and deepen inequality. In today’s episode of Pasha, Alison Gillwald, Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town, looks at how the cou...

Feb 26, 2020•9 min

Pasha 54: An African perspective on the coronavirus

shutterstock By the middle of February more than 2000 people had died from the coronavirus COVID-19, which was first identified in Wuhan, China at the end of last year. The virus has spread to a number of countries around the world – and of course, African countries are at risk, too. Screening and identifying patients is hugely important. In today’s episode Professor Burtram Fielding of the department of medical biosciences at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa takes us through t...

Feb 19, 2020•5 min

Pasha 53: Why we listened to tiny frogs

Frog The Cape peninsula moss frog is tiny – really tiny. That makes the species very difficult to track. These little frogs are also very vulnerable, rated as “Near Threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of threatened species. So how can researchers monitor the species and come up with plans to conserve it? By listening. In today’s episode of Pasha John Measey, chief researcher at the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, explai...

Feb 12, 2020•6 min

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