Mpox in South Africa and AI to Prevent Water Conflicts

Editors' Note

Think Global Health ends June by traversing Africa via a quad of stories.

Journalist Linda Nordling dives into the recent revival of mpox in South Africa. After going more than a year without a documented case, the country has spotted 16 since early May, likely an undercount due to limited testing. Three unexpected fatalities raise questions about what this infectious disease could mean for immunocompromised citizens living with HIV—and concerns about a more lethal version of the disease spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Next, Sabeeha "Sabs" Quereshi, the World Health Organization regional emergency preparedness and response coordinator/head for eastern and southern Africa, examines how artificial intelligence (AI) and big data could help soothe conflicts over water in East Africa. Drawing on firsthand experience with drought-related displacement, Quereshi provides decision-makers with examples of where those digital tools can support sustainable development of water resources and climate resilience in eastern Africa.

The edition heads to Tanzania to document the toll epic flooding took on public health earlier this year. Then, a collective of global health researchers, led by Faraan Rahim, lay out a road safety strategy for Africa, where nearly a quarter million motorists and pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in 2021.

Valerie Percival, of Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, concludes the week by stepping outside Africa and looking at how health equity and gender equality can reduce global violence. Percival presents takeaways from the recent Lancet Commission on Peaceful Societies Through Health Equity and Gender Equality, on which she served.

Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor