Science Diplomacy Capital for Africa

27/04/2026

SDCfA Autumn 2026 Networking Café - 22 April 2026 at the CSIR International Convention Centre

Department of Science,Technology and Innovation SA

27/04/2026

Speaking at the SDCfA Autumn 2026 Networking Café, DDG Daan du Toit announces the Inaugural Africa Science Diplomacy Conference which will take place at the CSIR International Convention Centre from 30 Nov - 1 Dec 2026!

Department of Science,Technology and Innovation SA

05/12/2025

05/12/2025

05/12/2025

04/12/2025

More than forty years into the HIV epidemic and decades into the global TB crisis, these diseases remain some of the world’s leading public health challenges.

Audiences and journalists are well-acquainted with these epidemics, but need to find ways to stay constantly creative and relevant.

In this panel discussion during World Conference of Science Journalists 2025, Edith Adhiambo Magak, a specialist HIV journalist and science writer based in Kenya, advised journalists to avoid jargon in reporting and keep up with new developments in HIV/TB research.

Reporting should be done in the social and structural contexts of the communities being reported on. Most importantly, journalists should always interrogate data, especially that which reports the number of people having died of the diseases.

“Journalists should be advocates for change. We are the representatives of the 1 million people who died when they did not have to,” she said.

Pascalinah Kabi, a senior journalist based in Lesotho, asserted that journalists should always remember that the people affected by these conditions are the experts of their own stories. Journalists must also always ask themselves tough questions, use simple language for ordinary people to be able to relate to the stories written.

Bibi-Aisha Wadvalla, the managing editor of Health-e News, a non-profit news publication at the intersection of health and social justice, stated that Health-e News trains community journalists from around South Africa to tell the stories from their communities properly.

She added that journalists should practice engagement journalism, by sitting down with communities and asking them what stories they would like to read and how. ‘Sitting down with communities, one would realise a wealth of stories that need to be told.”

Journalists need fact-checking tools to ensure accurate reporting, as one mistake in reporting could spread misinformation rapidly, one panelist noted.

04/12/2025

This morning, African science journalists from three distinct economic regions convened at the SDCfA stand to share their insights on the importance of science journalism in facilitating science diplomacy in Africa.

Munyaradzi Makoni, who hails from Zimbabwe but is based at Africa CDC in Addis Ababa, Esther Nakkazi from Kenya, and Busani Bafana from Zimbabwe, collectively acknowledged that the World Conference of Science Journalists 2025 provides a premier platform for African science journalists to collaborate and showcase compelling stories about scientific breakthroughs, innovation, and technological advancements in Africa.

They underscored that this would bolster science diplomacy in Africa. Africa CDC World Conference of Science Journalists 2025
SASJA - South African Science Journalists' Association
Department of Science,Technology and Innovation SA

03/12/2025