Africa Daily

The number of women studying STEM subjects in African universities - that’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – has risen dramatically over the last five decades. Female students now make up for almost 50% of the total number, a higher percentage of female representation than any other continent in the world. How has this happened and does this translate into similar representation in the job market once students graduate?Alan Kasujja speaks to Professor Verdiana Grace Masanja, the first woman to gain a Maths Phd in Tanzania, and the first female Maths professor there. When she started she was the only woman in the room and throughout her life she has encouraged young women to seize the opportunities that she herself had to struggle for.

"I don't think the Somali government is interested in a fist fight with Ethiopia."A diplomatic row broke out this week in response to a deal between Ethiopia and Somaliland allowing landlocked Ethiopia access to Somaliland’s coastline. Somalia described the agreement as an act of "aggression". Both the African Union and US have issued statements saying Somalia’s sovereignty must be respected. Somaliland seceded from Somalia in 1991 but is not internationally recognised as an independent state.Somaliland said in a statement that in exchange for sea access, Ethiopia would "formally recognise" it.But Ethiopia said that other countries had done deals with Somaliland in the past, and it had not "transgressed" any laws.Confused? For today’s Africa Daily podcast Peter Musembi goes back to the basics – and hears about the background to this latest dispute.

Like many children in Africa, Masai Ujiri was obsessed with football as he was growing up. But one day a new love struck him and he started what was to become a lifelong love affair with basketball.He’s been a player, a scout, an agent and today he’s the president of the NBA side the Toronto Raptors, making him the first and only African-born president of a professional sports franchise in North America. He’s also the founder of Giants of Africa: an organisation that aims to empower young African boys and girls through sport and basketball. Alan caught up with Ujiri to talk about his journey and what drives him. Presenter: Alan Kasujja Guest: Masai Ujiri

Peter Mutabazi is a Ugandan single dad who has fostered 38 children and adopted three of those kids. He lives in North Carolina in the US and these children come from different backgrounds and walks of life. This is something that gets him regularly noticed when he’s out with his family- he’s a black man in America raising white children. Peter was drawn to fostering and adoption because of what happened to him as a child. He was born in rural Uganda and lived in poverty without money for food, clothes or school. He ran away from home when he was 10 years old and became a homeless street kid in the capital Kampala. Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja spoke to Peter about growing as a vulnerable child in Uganda, life in the US and why he decided to parent so many children.

'The Beauty of Impermanence: An Architecture of Adaptability.’ Think about architecture and you probably think about tall buildings of steel and glass. But the theme of this year’s Sharjah Architecture Triennial is design influenced by scarcity – and how we can build in a way that adapts to decreasing resources and hotter climates. Africa has been disproportionately impacted by climate change. The Triennial is designed as a platform for architects from the global south – allowing them to share ideas on sustainability and reuse. Africa Daily hears from the curator of the exhibition, Nigerian architect, Tosin Oshinowo – as well from reporter Ijeoma Ndukwe who went to the opening week of the exhibition.

2023 was full of big news, interesting personal stories and some disastrous events like floods and earthquakes in different parts of Africa. So, what does 2024 hold for countries across Africa? Guests: Anne Soy, Mpho Lakaje and Thomas Naadi. Presenter: Alan Kasujja.

2023 has been an eventful year for Africa and it's that time of the year when Africa Daily reflects on some of the things that have happened. There's so much to discuss from South Africa's Springboks winning the rugby world cup to the Nigerian elections, as well as some disastrous floods and earthquakes in different regions. Guests: Anne Soy, Mpho Lakaje, Sally Nabil, and Thomas Naadi. Presenter: Alan Kasujja.

Letsile Tebogo is well on his way to becoming an African superstar. He took the athletics world by storm when he became the first African and first man from Botswana to win a medal in the 100 metres. He won silver and ran with a race time of 9.88 seconds, making him the first man from Botswana to run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds. And he’s only 20 years old. His talent is a huge topic of conversation in the athletics world and the continent. In today’s episode, we hear from the man himself on how he went from playing football to becoming fast on the track.

Buying affordable and safe medicines across Africa is often difficult. There are not enough pharmacies and the price of medicine is often too high for many people to afford. If you do get hold of the medicine you need, then there is the question of whether you can trust it; shocking statistics from the United Nations show that close to 500,000 people in sub Saharan Africa die each year due to fake or substandard medicines. So in this episode of Africa Daily we look at the journey of a packet of medicine from start to finish, to find out where the problems are, and how they can be solved. Our two experts are Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi, Director of Research at Global Health Focus, and Chimwemwe Chamdimba, the Principal Policy Specialist at the African Union Development Agency.

"The majority of the men who come into my life feel they want to be my saviours... they can say: 'I'm dating a blind girl. Guess what guys, I'm taking one for the team'."Imagine losing your sight after 31 years of clear vision. The simple tasks like attaching a file to an email, entering an office building or going for a walk unassisted now become so difficult. And what about things like dating and socialising?According to the WHO, about 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment. And even though sudden blindness cases are rare - conditions like glaucoma, where there’s increased pressure within the eyeball causing gradual loss of sight, affects over 80 million people.BBC Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja speaks to Evelyn who - as a filmmaker – relied on her sight for work – but who lost her sight completely in 2020. She now aims to educate, inspire and 'share her daily nonsense' with people via Youtube and her social media platforms.Producers: Gbenga Ogundare, Tabitha Mwai and Muthoni Muchiri.