Category: The Citizen

British national John Rees-Evans is preparing to attempt a record-breaking ascent and descent of Mount Kilimanjaro within 16 hours on July 7, 2026.

Rees-Evans said his journey will begin in Mabungo village, where he will cycle to Marangu Mtoni before running up Mount Kilimanjaro via the Marangu route to the summit. After reaching the peak, he will descend through Maua village and return to Mabungo, where the attempt will conclude.

The attempt is believed to be the first ever to completely ascend and descend the world’s largest freestanding mountain in a single day. The route covers 115 kilometres and gains 5,100 vertical metres – far exceeding most Kilimanjaro speed records, which cover around 42 kilometres and gain only about 4,000 metres. Speaking to The Citizen on July 5, 2026, Rees-Evans noted that most previous record attempts have started at the Marangu or Umbwe gates, at elevations of around 1,600 to 1,900 metres above sea level. However, he said his research into the mountain’s history and geography led him to conclude that Kilimanjaro truly begins at Mabungo, at just 777 metres above sea level – the mountain’s true geographic base – which is why he has chosen it as his starting point. It is the only place on earth where a climber can gain 5,000 vertical metres from the start point.

A representative from Team Kilimanjaro, Joseph Nchereri, said all preparations for the attempt have been completed to ensure success.

He also praised the government for improving infrastructure within Kilimanjaro National Park, saying the upgrades have enhanced tourist safety and contributed to a steady rise in visitor numbers each year.

How would Africa look today if it had never been colonised? What would our cultures look like? What would we believe about ourselves? And how different would our understanding of the people who colonised us be if they had never convinced us that our ways were primitive and that they had come to bring us civilisation?

These were the questions on my mind as I reread Things Fall Apart, first published in 1958.

I first read this novel in high school as a literature requirement. My attention was on themes, symbolism, setting and figurative language. I simply wanted to pass my exams.

Reading it again as an adult felt like reading a different book. It is only now that I appreciate why Things Fall Apart is regarded as one of the most important novels ever written about Africa.

Set in Umuofia, an Igbo community in present-day Nigeria, the novel follows Okonkwo through life before colonialism, his exile, and the arrival of British rule, each marking a turning point for his community.

Okonkwo grows up ashamed of his father, Unoka, a gentle man who loved music and conversation but died without titles, wealth or social status. Determined never to become like him, Okonkwo builds his life around the opposite ideal. He works relentlessly, earns respect, acquires titles and becomes one of the most successful men in Umuofia.

Yet his success is driven by the fear of appearing weak.

That fear shapes almost every decision Okonkwo makes. He mistakes violence for strength, rules his household through intimidation and believes compassion is a sign of weakness. In trying so hard not to become his father, he becomes trapped by the inability to question the version of manhood he has created for himself.

One of the novel’s most heartbreaking moments comes when Okonkwo helps kill Ikemefuna. Although an elder had warned him not to take part because the boy regarded him as a father, Okonkwo joins in anyway, afraid of appearing weak.

Later, when grief begins to overwhelm him, he scolds himself:

“When did you become a shivering old woman… How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number?”

The women carry an extraordinary burden. They live in a deeply patriarchal society where violence against wives is normalised, and their voices are secondary to men’s. Reading about Okonkwo’s wives, especially Ekwefi, I kept wondering how much suffering a woman was expected to endure before anyone questioned the system itself.

Achebe also presents a complex picture of women. When Okonkwo is exiled to his motherland, his uncle Uchendu reminds him that when life becomes unbearable, a child returns to his mother. “Mother is supreme.” The same society that limits women also sees the mother as a source of protection and strength. I found myself wrestling with these two realities.

What Achebe presents is a society more complex than I remembered from my school days. It is neither the primitive place described by colonial narratives nor a perfect society without flaws. It has laws, justice, religion, ceremonies and governance, alongside traditions that invite difficult questions.

I thought of how African societies might have changed had they been left to confront those questions on their own. Would some customs have disappeared over time? Would others have been preserved? We cannot know. But Achebe reminds us that change was already part of life long before Europeans arrived.

Religion is one example. The people of Umuofia believe in Chukwu, the supreme creator, while also consulting deities, ancestors and oracles. Their beliefs are woven into every aspect of life. So when the missionaries arrive insisting that theirs is the only true God, the conflict is about more than religion. It is about whose beliefs are seen as legitimate.

That is where Obierika becomes such an important character. Unlike Okonkwo, he is willing to ask difficult questions. He respects tradition, but he does not accept every tradition without reflection. When something troubles him, he says so.

Obierika made me wonder whether change was already possible from within the Igbo society. Perhaps not every tradition needed an outsider to question it. After all, people create culture. As they evolve, so do the cultures they create. Perhaps that was already happening in Umuofia.

Perhaps that is why Things Fall Apart continues to matter nearly 70 years later. Achebe depicts a society already wrestling with its own strengths and weaknesses, just as every society does. Africa’s story did not begin with colonialism, nor were Africans waiting for someone else to shape their future. The real tragedy is that colonialism cut those conversations short, taking away a people’s ability to decide for themselves what should change and what should remain.

Data from Global Forest Watch, the world’s most trusted platform for real-time forest monitoring, has revealed that global tree cover loss in 2025 was 25.5 million hectares-an area roughly the size of Ghana lost in a single year.

While this is a decline from 2024’s catastrophic record, fires remain the primary driver of loss, burning more than twice as much tree cover as they did two decades ago.

Furthermore, climate change is threatening forests inside and outside the tropics, with extreme heat and drought fuelling bigger, more damaging fires.

And perhaps most sobering of all: one third of all global forest lost between 2001 and 2024 is likely permanent. Sadly, Africa’s forests, particularly the all-important rainforests of the Congo Basin, are not spared.

Unlike Latin America and Southeast Asia, where industrial demand for cattle, soy, and palm oil drives destruction, Central Africa’s forest-loss is due to the daily struggle to survive. Hunger, fuel-wood, and food for growing families are consuming forests that the world cannot afford to lose.

Nowhere is this more visible than in the DR Congo home to the world’s second-largest tropical primary forest, yet one where 86 per cent of forest loss was from small-scale farming, charcoal harvesting, and the desperate movements of communities displaced by armed conflict.

Forest loss

Though DRC’s primary forest loss dipped 5 per cent last year, non-fire loss hit a record high, a warning hidden within apparent progress. Across the Basin, Cameroon tells an even starker story, with primary forest loss rising 10 per cent to its highest level ever recorded, driven by cocoa expansion and conflict-driven displacement.

And yet against this backdrop, there is still good news. The Republic of Congo and Gabon, both considered ‘High Forest Low Deforestation’ countries, held their ground last year even after a difficult year of fire-related loss.

As the latest GFW data landed, Kenya welcomed a high-level delegation from the government of China and the World Bank Group-China Centre for Ecological Systems and Transitions.

Gathering at the annual Global Landscapes Forum banner to restore landscapes at a scale that actually matches the crisis.

The moment marked the launch of the Living Landscapes Academy and the beginning of a transformative alliance with Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Malawi.

At the heart of it all is the urgent reality that restoration must scale to meet the demand for landscape repair.

China has already proven it is possible: One in every four trees planted on Earth today is planted in China. Yes! That’s the scale.

The Living Landscapes Academy now seeks to partner with African restoration champions to inspire ambitious scaling. This partnership holds genuine promise, but promise alone is not enough. I believe the success of this effort will not be determined by the ambition of its design or the prestige of its partners.

Africa’s restoration journey has already proven that it is possible to simultaneously restore degraded land, create green jobs, connect farmers to markets, and align ecological health with economic opportunity.

The lessons learnt through years of standing with communities demonstrate clearly that when communities lead and partners support meaningfully, landscapes can recover and thrive. In my opinion, three shifts must define this next chapter.

The first is a policy shift. China’s restoration success emerged from decades of policy alignment and long-term planning that refused to bend to short-term pressures.

Africa’s task is not to copy that story, but to learn from it, adapt it, and make it our own. Through programs like the Landscape Policy Accelerator, partners can help African governments translate those lessons to fit their landscapes and communities. Policy is the glue that holds ambition together, and the signal that tells the private sector investment is safe.

Nursery management systems

The second is a knowledge shift. African universities, TVETs, and research colleges must be at the centre of this work as innovators generating locally grounded research, training the next generation of restoration scientists, and anchoring institutional memory on the continent.

The sector must also embrace smarter logistics, nursery management systems, and technologies that reduce the cost of seedling production at scale. That learning must flow in both directions, China-Africa, honestly and with genuine curiosity.

The third is a mindset shift. The most dangerous obstacle to scaling restoration is not capital or political will, but what Michael Gerson called the ‘tyranny of low expectations’. That damaging habit of underestimating communities, which blinds us to the extraordinary knowledge and brilliance embedded in everyday life.

As we confront the loss of millions of hectares of forest each year, let us remember that Mother Nature, always patient, resilient, and life-giving, is watching to see whether we will finally rise to meet her.

The National Examinations Council of Tanzania (Necta) has released the 2026 Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ACSEE) results, with school candidates maintaining an exceptionally high pass rate of 99.92 percent, while more than half secured the top Division I grade. According to Necta, 125,320 school candidates, equivalent to 99.02 percent of those registered, sat the examination. Female attendance stood at 99.12 percent, with 61,835 candidates sitting the examination, while 63,485 male candidates, or 98.93 percent, took part.

In comparison, 126,135 school candidates sat the examination in 2025, representing an attendance rate of 99.38 percent.

Among private candidates, 6,476 candidates (91.33 percent) sat the examination, while 615 candidates (8.67 percent) were absent. Last year, 6,761 private candidates, equivalent to 90.73 percent, took the examination.

Prof Mohamed noted that 125,056 school candidates passed, representing 99.92 percent of those with results, while only 97 candidates (0.08 percent) failed.

“In 2025, a total of 125,779 school candidates, equivalent to 99.95 percent, passed the examination. The pass rate for school candidates has therefore remained consistently high in 2026,” he said.

The gender breakdown shows that 61,733 female candidates (99.94 percent) passed, compared with 63,323 male candidates (99.91 percent).

Performance among private candidates also improved. Necta said 6,112 private candidates, representing 94.5 percent, passed the examination, up from 6,127 candidates (90.7 percent) in 2025.

“The pass rate for private candidates has increased by 3.8 percentage points compared to 2025,” Prof Mohamed noted.

The results also indicate that 124,603 candidates, equivalent to 99.56 percent, attained Divisions I to III, reflecting continued strong performance.

“Of these candidates, the majority attained the highest grades, with 67,696 candidates (54.09 percent) awarded Division I and 43,515 candidates (34.77 percent) obtaining Division II,” said Prof Mohamed.

He noted that in 2025, 125,375 candidates (99.62 percent) attained Divisions I to III, with 48.57 percent earning Division I and 39.24 percent securing Division II.

“The quality of performance has therefore remained high in 2026,” Prof Mohamed said.

Patients suspected of having rare inherited disorders, complex cancers, or unusual infectious diseases frequently faced long waits and high costs as laboratories outside the country conducted analyses that local facilities could not perform.

That reality is beginning to change.

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At the 14th Scientific Conference of the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (Muhas) in Dar es Salaam, the university launched next-generation sequencing (NGS) services. Experts say this move could mark the beginning of a new era of precision medicine, outbreak preparedness, and biomedical research in Tanzania.

‘Today, we mark a historic milestone for Muhas and for Tanzania. We are not simply launching a laboratory service; we are opening the door to a new era of genomic medicine in our country and in the region,’ said Dr Siana Nkya, head of the Muhas Genetics Laboratory, who presented the genomics initiative.

The significance of the launch extends far beyond a laboratory upgrade. It arrives at a time when Tanzania is simultaneously pursuing Universal Health Coverage (UHC), preparing for a future of declining donor support, and confronting a changing disease landscape that includes both infectious diseases and a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Genomics analyses a person’s genetic material to understand why diseases occur, why medicines work differently from one patient to another, and how infections evolve.

Globally, the technology has become essential for cancer diagnostics, the detection of rare diseases, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and epidemic response.

‘Genomics helps us understand why diseases occur, why people respond differently to medicine, and how we can provide the right intervention to the right person at the right time,’ Dr Nkya said.

The new NGS platform at Muhas is expected to strengthen Tanzania’s capacity to diagnose genetic and infectious diseases, guide treatment decisions, support advanced research, and improve preparedness for future outbreaks.

It also reduces reliance on overseas laboratories, a step that could lower costs and shorten turnaround times for patients.

According to the World Health Organisation, countries with stronger laboratory and sequencing networks are better positioned to detect outbreaks early and respond more effectively.

Tanzania’s 2025 Universal Health and Preparedness Review highlighted the importance of robust laboratory systems and local sequencing capacity for national health security.

Lessons from Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the value of genomic surveillance. Countries that could rapidly sequence viral samples were able to identify new variants, track transmission patterns, and inform public health responses more quickly than those that depended on external laboratories.

Africa’s experience during the pandemic prompted the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to prioritise expansion of genomic surveillance across the continent.

For Tanzania, the launch of local sequencing services means that biological samples with epidemic potential can be increasingly tested and managed within the country, thereby strengthening national sovereignty over health data and enhancing outbreak response capabilities.

According to Dr Nkya, traditional healthcare often relies on standard treatment protocols in which patients with similar symptoms receive the same medicines.

Precision medicine takes a different approach.

‘Using genetic information, clinicians can predict how an individual is likely to respond to a drug, allowing more targeted and effective treatment,’ she said.

This, she says, is particularly important for cancers, where genetic mutations can determine which therapies are likely to succeed.

Dr Nkya argued that genomics can contribute directly to Universal Health Coverage by enabling faster diagnosis, earlier access to appropriate treatment, reduced spending on overseas testing, and improved quality of life for patients.

The health system challenge

Yet conference participants repeatedly emphasised that sophisticated technology alone will not deliver universal healthcare.

Giving his keynote address, Muhas researcher, Prof Nathanael Sirili, argued that Tanzania must rethink how its entire health system operates.

‘It is time for shifting our mindsets from single disease logic to integrated care. We should not see malaria in a patient, but we should see a patient with malaria,’ he argued.

His point reflects a broader global debate. For decades, many African health programmes were organised around individual diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, or malaria. While those programmes saved millions of lives, they often created parallel systems for financing, data management, and service delivery.

Today, patients increasingly present with multiple conditions at the same time. A diabetic patient may also have hypertension and malaria. A cancer patient may require genetic testing alongside conventional treatment.

‘The delivery of care requires strengthened primary healthcare, hospitals, laboratories, medicines, and referral systems which function as one network rather than solitary institutions,’ Prof Sirili said.

WHO estimates that at least 33 percent of all deaths in Tanzania are due to NCDs, with 17 percent occurring prematurely among people younger than 70 years.

At the same time, the country continues to face a high burden of tuberculosis, malaria, and other infectious diseases.

This ‘triple burden’ of communicable diseases, NCDs, and mental health challenges is expected to intensify as the population grows and ages.

Financing UHC in an era of shrinking aid

One of the most important discussions at the conference concerned financing. International health assistance is becoming less predictable, forcing many African countries to increase domestic investment in healthcare.

During the week the conference was held, Tanzania signed a five-year health partnership with the United States under which Washington will invest more than $1.3 billion, while Tanzania has committed $1.8 billion of its own resources over the same period.

The agreement is intended to strengthen the country’s ability to finance and sustain essential health services.

Prof Sirili said the changing funding landscape requires a stronger focus on efficiency.

‘Domestic priorities have to come first, and value for money becomes more important.’

Recent analyses of health financing reforms in the WHO African Region show that progress toward UHC has slowed. The region’s UHC service coverage index reached 44 in 2021, still far below the global average of 68, while out-of-pocket spending continues to push many households into financial hardship.

Health financing specialist, Dr Ifeanyi Nsofor, a senior fellow at the Global Health Security Agenda and a recognised advocate for African health systems reform, has repeatedly argued that countries cannot achieve UHC without reducing fragmentation in financing and service delivery.

‘The challenge is not only raising more money for health; it is ensuring that resources are pooled and used strategically to protect the poorest households,’ he said in a recent policy discussion on African health financing.

Genomics researcher, Prof Ambroise Wonkam, one of Africa’s leading geneticists and former director of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa initiative, has similarly argued that African countries must build their own genomic infrastructure.

‘Africa cannot remain a source of biological samples while the analysis and innovation happen elsewhere,’ he said during a continental genomics forum. ‘Building local sequencing capacity is essential for both scientific sovereignty and better patient care.’

Their observations align closely with the arguments presented by Dr Nkya and Prof Sirili at Muhas.

Tanzania has already invested heavily in laboratory networks, surveillance systems, and digital platforms such as GoTHoMIS, which has been installed in nearly all public health facilities.

Genomics could complement these efforts by supporting local development of diagnostics, strengthening antimicrobial resistance monitoring, and improving disease surveillance.

Perhaps the most significant message from the conference was that genomics should not be viewed as an isolated scientific achievement. For precision medicine to benefit ordinary Tanzanians, sequencing results must move through an integrated health system-connecting community clinics, district hospitals, referral facilities, and specialised centres.

Prof Sirili challenged researchers to focus on implementation science and practical solutions.

‘Research should ask what works, for whom, at what cost, and under what conditions.’

That question may ultimately determine whether Tanzania’s genomic ambitions translate into real progress toward Universal Health Coverage.

Minister for Home Affairs, Patrobas Katambi, has assured Tanzanians that the country remains peaceful and secure, saying there is no security threat despite reports of planned demonstrations on July 7, 2026.

Speaking to journalists on July 6 at the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair, Mr Katambi said the government and security agencies were fully prepared to safeguard peace and public order, stressing that no individual or group would be allowed to undermine the country’s stability.

“Our country is safe. There is no security threat at the moment, and we will continue taking action against anyone involved in criminal activities or acts that threaten the peace of the nation,” he said. His remarks come amid heightened security deployment across Dar es Salaam, with increased police presence in strategic locations ahead of the planned demonstrations.

Security has also been tightened at the ongoing Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (Sabasaba), where police have intensified screening of exhibitors and visitors.

At the fairgrounds, officers are conducting thorough inspections of bags and personal belongings, with suspicious items subjected to further scrutiny. Visitors are also prohibited from bringing food and beverages into the venue and are required to undergo mandatory temperature screening as part of measures to prevent the spread of Ebola.

Mr Katambi said the enhanced security measures were precautionary and reflected Tanzania’s longstanding commitment to maintaining peace and protecting its citizens.

“Tanzania has remained peaceful since independence, and we are determined to preserve that legacy. Our security agencies are on alert to ensure every citizen continues with their daily activities without fear,” he said.

The minister stressed that the government would enforce the law against anyone attempting to incite violence, destroy property or disrupt public order.

“No one is above the law. We will take all necessary legal measures against anyone who commits or threatens to commit acts of destruction or disturb the country’s peace,” he said.

He said normal life would continue uninterrupted, noting that schools, businesses and economic activities, including the ongoing Sabasaba exhibition, were proceeding as usual.

“The continued participation of wananchi in social and economic activities demonstrates that the country is calm and secure. There is no reason for citizens to be afraid,” he said.

Mr Katambi also warned media owners, journalists and social media users to exercise responsibility when publishing or sharing information, saying the government would take action against individuals and media outlets that violate the law.

He said authorities would enforce laws prohibiting content that incites violence, spreads misinformation or undermines national unity.

“There are laws that prohibit the publication or broadcast of content that incites violence, demeans the dignity of others or misleads the public. We will enforce those laws impartially,” he said.

The minister reiterated that the government would not hesitate to prosecute any individual or institution found using traditional or social media platforms to incite violence, threaten national unity or endanger Tanzania’s peace.

A University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) study has found that some women continue to face abusive behaviour and poor communication from healthcare workers during childbirth, a situation researchers say discourages them from reporting complications and may endanger maternal and newborn health.

The study, presented at the 59th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair, found that while many health facilities are equipped with qualified staff and medical equipment, gaps in interpersonal care remain a major challenge.

Speaking on the findings, UDSM human health researcher Dr Bernard Mbwele said the study was prompted by persistent maternal deaths and concerns over the treatment of women during labour. ‘Every mother goes through childbirth, yet complications such as excessive bleeding and maternal deaths remain common. We wanted to understand both the medical and experiential factors affecting outcomes,’ he said.

Dr Mbwele said observations during clinical training also influenced the research, including cases of disrespectful treatment of women in labour.

The study, which used culturally adapted patient experience tools translated into Kiswahili, examined how women’s childbirth experiences affect their physical and emotional wellbeing.

Findings showed that women who had previously given birth were more confident in navigating maternity services, while first-time and younger mothers were less aware of their rights and less likely to demand quality care.

It also found that women with higher incomes or formal employment were more likely to insist on better treatment, while those in rural facilities were more likely to accept poor treatment without complaint.

Women living with HIV also reported higher levels of stigma and discrimination.

Dr Mbwele warned that abusive communication can prevent women from reporting life-threatening symptoms during delivery.

‘A hospital may have skilled staff and equipment, but if communication is poor, mothers may be too afraid to speak up even in emergencies,’ he said.

The study has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and researchers are working with hospitals to introduce patient feedback tools to improve maternity care.

Dr Mbwele called for the integration of respectful, patient-centred care indicators into national maternal health programmes to improve outcomes and ensure dignity in childbirth.

Lusaka. Telecommunications giant Airtel Africa Plc has saved 9.1 million litres of diesel during its 2025/2026 financial year as it continues to scale up sustainability initiatives aimed at reducing the environmental impact of its operations across 14 African countries.

The achievement was made possible through reduced reliance on diesel and increased use of lower-carbon energy sources, including the conversion of 390 network infrastructure sites to on-grid power, a move that improved efficiency and helped cut emissions.

Speaking during a media roundtable in Lusaka, Zambia, Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said the company remains committed to balancing business growth with environmental responsibility.

‘Our commitment to responsible growth goes beyond expanding our business. We are equally focused on reducing our environmental footprint while creating long-term value for the communities we serve,’ Taldar said.

The company also reported progress in waste management, noting that 94 percent of total waste generated during the year was recycled under its circular economy initiatives.

Airtel Africa said its network coverage now reaches 81.9 percent of the population across its markets, expanding access to connectivity, information, education and economic opportunities.

Its mobile money platform, Airtel Money, continued to grow, serving 54.1 million customers through 2.4 million agents. Women account for 44.1 percent of users, reflecting increasing financial inclusion across its markets.

Through the Airtel Africa Foundation, the company invested US$6.2 million in programmes focused on financial inclusion, education, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion.

In partnership with UNICEF, Airtel Africa connected 3,296 schools to free internet access, benefiting more than two million learners and 38,868 teachers. The initiative also enabled 64 zero-rated digital learning platforms, giving over 11 million learners access to educational content free of charge.

The company also trained more than 30,000 young people in digital skills and awarded over 250 undergraduate STEM scholarships through the Airtel Africa Tech Fellowship programme to support the development of future African innovators and technology leaders.

Today, AI can summarise lengthy reports, transcribe interviews in seconds, analyse large datasets, generate headlines, translate content into multiple languages, and even write simple news stories. What once took journalists hours can now be completed in minutes.

Naturally, this has sparked an important and uncomfortable question: Will AI save journalism or replace it? The answer, at least for now, is neither.

AI is not the end of journalism, but it is undoubtedly changing journalism in profound ways.

Throughout history, every technological advancement has been met with both excitement and fear.

The printing press changed how information was distributed.

Radio challenged newspapers. Television disrupted radio. The internet transformed everything.

Each innovation created anxiety about the future of existing media. Yet journalism survived and adapted. AI is simply the latest chapter in this story. The opportunities it presents are enormous.

For many news organisations, especially those operating with limited resources, AI can become a powerful productivity tool. It can automate repetitive tasks, allowing journalists to spend more time on investigative reporting, storytelling, and audience engagement.

In many ways, AI can help journalists work smarter. For African media organisations, this potential is particularly significant.

Across the continent, many newsrooms operate under financial constraints, with limited staff and increasing pressure to produce more content for multiple platforms. AI could help bridge some of these resource gaps, improving efficiency and expanding access to information.

But every opportunity comes with risks. AI is only as good as the information it is trained on. It can make mistakes, generate inaccuracies, and present false information with remarkable confidence.

AI systems can fabricate sources, misinterpret facts, and reinforce existing biases.

This is why the greatest threat posed by AI is not that machines will replace journalists.

It is that misinformation may become faster, cheaper, and more difficult to detect. Ironically, this makes the role of professional journalism even more essential.

As AI floods the information ecosystem with content, the value of trust increases. Audiences will increasingly seek credible sources that can verify facts, provide context, and separate truth from fiction.

While machines can generate information, they cannot replace judgment; they cannot replace ethics, and they cannot replace human curiosity

Consider investigative journalism. Some of the world’s most impactful stories have emerged because journalists built relationships with sources, recognised patterns that others missed, or had the courage to ask uncomfortable questions. These are deeply human qualities.

AI cannot attend a community meeting and understand the emotions in the room.

It cannot build trust with a whistleblower. It cannot fully appreciate the cultural nuances that shape society. Most importantly, it cannot be held morally accountable.

Journalism is not simply the production of content. It is a public responsibility.

The future, therefore, is unlikely to be a battle between humans and machines. Instead, it will be a partnership.

The most successful newsrooms will not be those that resist AI, nor those that rely on it entirely.

They will be the organisations that combine the efficiency of technology with the judgment and integrity of human journalists.

The journalist of the future may spend less time transcribing interviews and more time analysing information.

Less time compiling data and more time asking why it matters.

Less time producing routine content and more time creating meaningful, impactful journalism.

In that sense, AI could actually strengthen journalism rather than weaken it, but only if it is used responsibly.

Media organisations must invest in ethical guidelines, staff training, and robust verification processes.

Transparency will become increasingly important. Audiences deserve to know when AI has been used in the production of content.

The rise of AI also demands something from journalists themselves: adaptability.

The profession is changing, and those who embrace new tools while remaining committed to the core principles of journalism will be best positioned to thrive.

Technology has always changed the way journalism is practiced. What has never changed is why journalism exists.

Society still needs people who can investigate wrongdoing, hold power accountable, explain complex issues, and help citizens make informed decisions.

AI can make journalism faster. It can make journalism more efficient. It may even make journalism more accessible, but it cannot replace the human qualities that make journalism matter.

The future of journalism is not human versus machine. It is humans and machines working together to tell better stories, uncover deeper truths, and serve the public more effectively.

And in an age increasingly shaped by algorithms, that human mission may become more important than ever.

One of the least discussed challenges in the shift towards refugee self-reliance that’s touted by development agencies is the extent of poverty within closed camp economies.

This reality is often overlooked in conversations that focus on entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, yet it shapes everything that follows.

In many camps, small businesses do not operate in thriving markets, they operate in spaces where nearly everyone is struggling.

A refugee selling vegetables, airtime, or basic goods is often selling to customers who are equally constrained, equally dependent, and equally uncertain about tomorrow.

The exchange exists, but it happens within limits that are difficult to escape. There is movement, but not necessarily growth.

Transactions are frequently based on credit rather than cash. Goods are taken with the promise of payment later – payment that may never come.

This is not simply a financial arrangement; it reflects the shared reality of hardship. Refusing credit is not always possible, because the people who ask are part of the same community, facing the same conditions.

Over time, this creates cycles of debt that quietly erode the very businesses meant to represent progress. What begins as an attempt to generate income slowly becomes difficult to sustain. Stock becomes harder to replace. Income becomes unpredictable. What remains is a business in form, but not always in function.

In such an environment, entrepreneurship does not necessarily generate growth. It often redistributes scarcity.

This raises an important question: Can self-reliance truly exist in an economy where no one has enough?

Self-reliance without integration

Beyond the internal limits of camp economies lies a broader structural issue – integration. This is where the focus shifts from individual effort to the conditions that shape what is possible.

Refugees are often encouraged to become self-reliant while remaining excluded from the very systems that make self-reliance possible.

Restrictions on movement, limited access to formal employment, and barriers to national markets create conditions where opportunity is not only scarce, but structurally constrained.

In this context, self-reliance becomes a paradox.

Dozens of countries impose refugee encampment policies. Refugees are expected to build independent lives within environments that limit independence.

They are encouraged to grow within systems that do not expand. They are asked to sustain themselves in economies that cannot sustain them.

This contradiction is not always visible in policy discussions, but it is present in everyday life.

For self-reliance to move beyond rhetoric, refugees must be seen not as a burden to be managed, but as an economic and social asset.

This requires more than encouragement, it requires change in the systems that define access and opportunity.

Access to labour markets, financial services, education, and mobility are not additional benefits; they are necessary conditions. Without them, self-reliance remains limited to small-scale survival rather than meaningful progress.

Between what is measured and what is lived

Another important dimension of this shift is the increasing reliance on data systems and standardised indicators. Terms such as ‘consumption scores’, ‘resilience markers’, and ‘transition metrics’ are used to assess progress and guide decision-making.

These tools are important, but they have limits.

They capture what can be measured, not necessarily what is lived.

A household may appear stable on paper while continuing to face daily shortages.

A young person may report having a business while struggling to generate consistent income.

These realities exist alongside the data, but are not always visible within it.

This creates a growing gap between what is recorded and what is experienced.

The issue is not that the data is incorrect, but that it is incomplete. It reflects part of the reality, but not all of it. And when decisions are based primarily on measurable indicators, there is a risk that the unmeasured aspects of life uncertainty, pressure, and dignity are overlooked.

The need to reflect reality

This does not mean that the shift towards livelihoods and self-reliance is inherently wrong. Many refugees want to work, to build, and to sustain themselves. The desire for independence is real.

But desire alone does not create opportunity.

The issue lies in how these transitions are implemented, and whether the conditions needed for success are in place. Self-reliance cannot be reduced to the presence of a business or the reduction of aid. It must be understood in terms of stability and sustainability.

These questions are necessary if self-reliance is to reflect reality rather than appearance.

Is the system ready for self-reliance?

As humanitarian organisations continue to adapt to funding constraints and changing priorities, the shift towards self-reliance is likely to continue. It is presented as a necessary transition, and in many ways, it is.

But necessity does not remove complexity.

As long as refugee economies remain closed and constrained, the potential for meaningful growth will remain limited. As long as integration remains restricted, independence will remain partial. And as long as progress is measured primarily through indicators, there is a risk that appearance will take precedence over reality.

The question is not simply whether refugees are capable of self-reliance. It is whether the systems around them are prepared to support it in a meaningful and sustainable way.

Because without that support, self-reliance risks becoming something else: not a pathway out of poverty, just a different way of living within it.