Phenyo Mokgothu

Deaths from Tuberculosis (TB) have increased globally for the first time in over a decade. This is according to the World Health Organisation’s Global TB Report that was released in October 2021. The increase in deaths is due to “reduced access to TB diagnosis and treatment in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic”, the report found.

The situation is no different in South Africa. In December, Health Minister Joe Phaahla confirmed that Covid-19 had side-lined the fight against TB, as well as HIV and Aids. 

The word “digital” has a strong presence in virtually every sector these days, along with outcries for re-skilling and up-skilling of the workforce with digital literacy and skills for them to remain relevant for the future world of work. The Covid-19 pandemic has seemingly increased the pace and urgency of acquiring these skills. Internationally, digital literacy and skills are deemed essential by research and advisory firms like Gartner to enable lifelong learning and more effective workforce management, and ensure the competitiveness of employers and employees alike.

Mafumane Thlapi

High prevalence rates of alcohol use among students in higher education are a public health concern. This is according to a study conducted by Prof Miriam Moagi from the School of Nursing at the North-West University (NWU).

Prof Moagi reviewed existing evidence to address alcohol abuse among students from a demand-reduction approach. The article is from her PhD study, which was guided by the National Drug Master Plan (NDMP) pillars 2013–2017. The three pillars are demand reduction, harm reduction and supply reduction.

The research niche area Indigenous Language Media in Africa (ILMA) at the North-West University (NWU) is embarking on a three-year research project to assist South Africa’s struggling indigenous language media.

The past few years have seen massive closures and restructuring of media houses in South Africa, partly due to the introduction of digital platforms and social media, leading to a steady decline in advertising revenues and circulation.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the exclusion of even more South African residents from economic activity has further weakened the country’s already fragile peace.

This is one of the conclusions drawn by North-West University (NWU) academic Dr Gideon van Riet, who recently published an article based on three years of research in the JB Marks Municipality. The research focused on investigating the link between the Covid-19 pandemic and South Africa’s fragile peace through the lens of crime.

Phenyo Mokgothu

Cyberattacks are occurring thick and fast as the world becomes more connected and the rewards greater.
According to a North-West University (NWU) academic, the possible rewards for cyberattackers will continue to increase, as more aspects of our everyday lives become interwoven and reliant on online interaction.

Prof Wian Erlank from the Faculty of Law says he keeps a watch on cybersecurity developments to understand how these affect other areas of law on which he conducts research.

Using genomics to understand and protect the African continent’s biodiversity could improve the resilience of plants, animals and other life forms to climate change, with a knock-on effect on food security, says North-West University (NWU) researcher Dr Roksana Majewska.

She and fellow researchers at the African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP) have undertaken to safeguard and preserve African genomic biodiversity through an Africa-led effort to sequence the genomes of plants, animals, fungi and protists that are endemic to the continent.

The Earth is in trouble. It is suffocating under clouds of carbon dioxide emissions from the use of coal and other environmentally damaging resources to generate energy. These emissions are the primary cause of global warming, and if humanity wants to avoid the worst consequences of global warming*, we have to find alternatives for our energy needs.

As students return to the campuses of the North-West University (NWU), the university is moving to the next stage of teaching and learning.

This entails piloting a hybrid-flexible (HyFlex) approach that enables simultaneous face-to-face and online teaching and learning. In short, this means that students can participate either in person or at another time and, through eFundi, access recordings with advanced searching, tagging and assessment facilities on the Panopto lecture-capturing and video-content management platform.