A new plan has been developed to improve girls’ performance in sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics.

It will be rolled out early next year to improve learning outcomes in these key subjects, also known as STEM.

Tanzania and Burundi are among the top four countries in Africa in consumption of antibiotics, new data published by the World Health Organisation shows.

Tanzania and Burundi consume 27.3 and 4.4 defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 inhabitants per day respectively. Burkina Faso is second at 13.8 DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day while Côte d’Ivoire, at 10.7 DDD, is third.

African experts explain the barriers they face to taking part in influential climate science assessments like this month’s blockbuster on 1.5C global warming

Africa is home to one in six of the world’s people and rising. From its sensitive ecosystems to booming cities, the continent is vulnerable to climate change and increasingly important to tackling it.

The next step for how science can boost healthcare in Africa is ‘implementation science’ — working out how best to apply research findings and provide services — according to Rwanda’s former Minister of Health and a senior policymaker in the South African government.

Personalised medicine for South Africans is a step closer‚ with the announcement on Wednesday that the African Genomics Centre is under construction in Cape Town.

Glenda Gray‚ president of the South African Medical Research Council — which will host the centre — said it “propels South Africa into a new era of medical research and means that we join a small‚ but growing‚ group of countries that are pioneering this type of innovation”.

One of South Africa’s many complex challenges involves fixing and improving its education system. As part of this, the government has come up with a national strategy for three crucial teaching and learning areas: mathematics, science and technology. The aim is to strengthen how the subjects are taught using curricular methods and learning support materials.

With fewer than 95 days left before they run dry, Cape Town might become the first major city in the world to run out of water.