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The economic impact of climate change, especially in Africa, is tremendous. As Africans battle with severe weather conditions like floods and droughts, their limited infrastructure is overstretched and, in most cases, cannot withstand the impact. The rains are flooding cities in Nigeria as drought ravages cities in South Africa. When events like these occur, people look to the media for information, and studies have shown that the media can influence public perception of climate change through the way they frame the issue. Using the issue-specific frames of mitigation and adaptation, this study analysed Nigerian and South African newspapers' coverage of climate change. The study spanned 9 months (January-September 2018), and the online editions of The Punch, Leadership, Mail & Guardian and News Everyday were content-analysed quantitatively using tables and frequencies, and qualitatively, using verbatim quotes. A total of 90 stories were obtained from the four newspapers, with the straight news format as the most used story genre. The major sources of news stories on climate change were the reporters, followed by experts/private individuals. The adaptation frame was the most used, showing that the African media understands the need to mobilise citizens locally for a collective fight against climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak and spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is probably the most serious global challenge since World War II. While research has paid considerable attention to the technical, epidemiological and public health aspects of the pandemic in Africa, it neglects the social, economic and political dimensions. Relying on analysis of data on trends of COVID-19 infections from the World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and a rapid review of available international and national policy/programme documents on COVID-19 control responses in Africa, this study assessed the extant protocols and responses to COVID-19 in relation to urban governance principles. Utilizing the political economy framework, the social conditions of informal labour and business activities during the COVID-19 pandemic are explored with accession to social habitus of informality. The paper argues that in as much as the COVID-19 pandemic is a pervasive health problem it should be treated more as a social and political economy challenge given the large informal nature of urbanism in Africa. The study concludes that urban governance that incorporates collective organization, community groups, non-state and informal actors offers scope in the battle against COVID-19 in Africa. Rethinking African urbanism in line with the principles of the Global Campaign on Urban Governance is also canvassed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study applies the political ecology perspective in reframing corporate-community engagement and adapts the community-directed intervention ( CDI) strategy using Global Memorandum of Understanding ( GMoU) framework in relation to 30 rural communities that are likely to be affected by gas exploration and production activities in the Niger Delta region. The study draws attention to the indigenous structures and capacities of communities to implement CDI initiatives for possible replication in areas facing similar development challenges. Adopting the CDI framework as represented by the GMoU model could reconfigure social relations of power between companies and communities and fast-track development and prevent or, at least, reduce corporate-community tensions and conflicts in the petro-economy of the Niger Delta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]