Kim Harrisberg

The U.S. aid funding cuts have sent high-profile shockwaves across world health care access and humanitarian relief efforts, but another vital sector has also been hit: energy access in Africa.

On a continent where 600 million people lack reliable access to electricity, the U.S.-led Power Africa initiative sought to improve power supplies in sub-Saharan Africa for schools, clinics, households, farms and businesses.

Tarryn Lokotsch can see the U.S. aid money she desperately needs to help South African rape survivors sitting in her organisation's bank account, but she cannot touch a cent of it.

Since U.S. President Donald Trump froze funds under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in January, even the donor-funded cars Lokotsch and her colleagues use to visit rape victims have sat idle.

When COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic in March 2020,  the international community had dire predictions for Africa: the region's underfunded and poorly equipped health facilities would crumble and millions of people could die.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa said in April 2020 that up to 3.3 million Africans could lose their lives as a direct result of COVID-19.

South African-born billionaire Elon Musk has taken to his social media platform X to criticise his country of birth more than once, targeting a land law and now internet licensing requirements that aim to tackle post-apartheid inequality.

Part of a U.S. administration that has dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, Musk appears irked by similar policies in South Africa. The world's richest man last month accused his birth nation of having "racist ownership laws" over recent land reform legislation.  

First U.S. President Donald Trump cut funding to South Africa over its land reform policies, now a critical trade agreement is under threat.

One thing is clear Trump is not pleased with South Africa.

Thirty years after the end of white minority rule in South Africa and land ownership remains a hot topic in one of the world's least equal nations.

Now it is a hot topic in Washington too.

I was not expecting the African Mining Indaba conference to feel like a mass speed dating show that helps mining companies find a mineral match made in heaven.

The 31st Indaba held in Cape Town connects some 11,000 delegates under the expansive roof of the impressive Cape Town International Conference Centre.

President Donald Trump's decision to put a halt to U.S. foreign aid sparked intense and swift panic last month, but a partial U-turn has done little to calm nerves, fuelling a debate about the viability of the global aid system.

Hours after his inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump ordered a 90-day pause in foreign aid, including the supply of drugs for HIV treatment under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the world's leading HIV initiative.

Hundreds of informal miners in South Africa faced a stalemate in recent months after police cut off food and water to an illegal goldmine shaft in November: stay and starve, or emerge above ground and face definite arrest.

The move was part of an operation launched by South Africa's police in 2023 to stop illegal mining.

Inconsistent government and corporate climate strategies may see poorer regions left behind in the transition away from polluting industries to green jobs, according to new research.

Wealthier cities like Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, have more advanced plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts than less affluent regions, said the analysis of more than 50 government and corporate entities by South African non-profit SouthSouthNorth (SSN).