Africa has been managing climate volatility for decades. Here’s what the rest of the world can learn from it

Timeslive · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · May 26, 2026 · 1188 words · By The Conversation

Climate Justice Sustainable Development African Agency and Leadership

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What to know about Climate Justice

Professor Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi argues that Africa should transition from reliance on external funding to leading global climate and health governance. He emphasizes the value of indigenous knowledge and African-led research in creating sustainable food and energy systems.

Propaganda risk 20%

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left14%

Center86%

Right0%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

By Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi The United States’ retreat from aspects of global climate and health leadership has exposed the risk Africa took in relying on external funding for these projects.

Why it matters

When the US pulled back on aid, many African programmes and plans that relied on their funding, expertise, or political support had to abruptly end, leaving millions of people on the continent at risk of extreme poverty.

Common ground

African institutions, governments, scientists and communities can now strengthen the continent’s voice in climate and health governance.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Glittering Generalities: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Climate Justice story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The Lancet Countdown Africa Regional Centre was set up to help change that [African countries being on the back foot in responding to crisis]?
How does this story connect Climate Justice with Sustainable Development over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2026-05-26-africa-has-been-managing-climate-…

analyticsAnalysis

20%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Glittering Generalities 70% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 2

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “The Lancet Countdown Africa Regional Centre was set up to help change that [African countries being on the back foot in responding to crisis].”

CORROBORATED

The claim is supported by The Conversation and multiple web search results describing the Lancet Countdown Africa Regional Centre's purpose to provide locally relevant climate and health evidence.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Climate change affects human health in many ways, including an increase in heat-related illnesses and deaths, worsened air quality, the spread of infectious diseases, and health risks associated with …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_climate_change_on_h…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The eradication of infectious diseases is the reduction of the prevalence of an infectious disease in the global host population to zero. Two infectious diseases have successfully been eradicated: sma…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_dise…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Global health is the health of populations in a worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_health

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 2: “the 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report... found that millions of people are dying unnecessarily each year because of fossil fuel use, rising greenhouse gas emissions and governments failing to adapt to climate change fast enough.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web sources discussing the 2025 Lancet Countdown report mention the dire health impacts of fossil fuel use and the failure of governments to adapt quickly enough.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Climate change has already affected the physical and mental health of people in the United Kingdom. The country's climate is becoming warmer, with drier summers and wetter winters. Health threats due …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_climate_change_on_h…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “In Tanzania, my research showed that better water management of farmland could yield huge increases in the agricultural sustainability indicators and promote more sustainable livelihoods.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny Prof. Mabhaudhi's specific research findings in Tanzania.

help

Claim 4: “In Zimbabwe, I found that poor coordination between water, energy and food programmes often weakens development efforts”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny Prof. Mabhaudhi's specific research findings in Zimbabwe.

verified

Claim 5: “Africa Day [is] on May 25”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources explicitly confirm that Africa Day is observed on May 25.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on May 1, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox and midsummer solstice. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Africa Day (formerly African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day) is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963. It is celebrated in various coun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Day

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of labourers, the labour movement and the working class that is marked every yea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers'_Day

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 6: “In South Africa, I was part of a team that looked at how to better grow amaranthus... We found that using locally available manure such as cow dung mixed with mineral fertilisers could help the crop grow much faster.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 7: “When the Japanese city of Sendai was rebuilt after the 2011 tsunami, that experience helped inform what became the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.”

VERIFIED

Web results confirm that the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction was created at a UN conference held in Sendai in 2015, following the experience of the 2011 tsunami.

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web search NEUTRAL — Tsunami flooding on the Sendai Airport runway. Large parts of Kuji and the southern section of Ōfunato including the port area were almost entirely destroyed.[159][160] Also largely destroyed was Riku…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tōhoku_earthquake_and_tsu…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was created at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai in 2015. This framework describes a serie…
https://www.city.sendai.jp/shinsaifukko/shise/daishinsai/fuk…

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web search NEUTRAL — Schoolchildren and businesses in Japan are working hard to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year blueprint adopted at a UN conference in their country in 2015.
https://www.undrr.org/news/japanese-children-and-companies-i…

info

Claim 8: “Africa is only responsible for about 3% of all global carbon emissions.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is mentioned in a cross-reference from The Conversation, but the other web search results provide general geographic and demographic data about Africa without mentioning carbon emission percentages.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km 2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers around 20% of Earth 's …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa

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web search NEUTRAL — As of 2023, about 1.5 billion people lived in Africa, which is about 18.2% of the world's population. The continent is washed by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, the A…
https://ontheworldmap.com/africa/

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web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · Africa, the second largest continent (after Asia), covering about one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. The continent is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by…
https://www.britannica.com/place/Africa

+ 1 more evidence source

schedule

Claim 9: “Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi is professor of climate change, food systems and health and director of The Lancet Countdown in Africa, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “indicators in the 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report show, climate change adaptation is not funded nearly enough.”

CORROBORATED

The claim is corroborated by The Conversation, allAfrica.com, and the WHO - Aged Care Insite source, all referencing the 2025 Lancet Countdown report's findings on insufficient adaptation funding.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — As indicators in the 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report show, climate change adaptation is not funded nearly enough.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202605260005.html

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web search NEUTRAL — The 2025 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: “Climate change action offers a lifeline” has been published.
https://hgpi.org/en/lecture/column-70.html

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web search NEUTRAL — The 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report, produced in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), reveals that continued reliance on fossil fuels paired with an insuff…
https://www.agedcareinsite.com.au/2025/12/4-december-the-cli…

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 11: “I also co-authored the 2025 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report”

CORROBORATED

Web search results for the 2025 Lancet Countdown reports explicitly list Prof Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi as a contributor/author in the context of the Africa-specific reporting.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Oct 28, 2025 ... Driven by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, climate change is increasingly claiming lives and harming people's health worldwide. Mean ...
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6…

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web search NEUTRAL — Dec 13, 2025 ... Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. 15 Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO, Geneva, ...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41175887/

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web search NEUTRAL — Jan 16, 2026 ... , Brama Koné PhD j , Prof Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi PhD k , Munyaradzi Makoni h , Josphat Martin Muchangi PhD l , Prof Kris A Murray PhD a * ,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01406…

info

Claim 12: “Morocco’s evacuation of more than 140,000 people in February 2026 ahead of devastating floods”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is reported in The Conversation, but the other web results for Morocco are general encyclopedic entries and do not mention a February 2026 evacuation.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Morocco, mountainous country of western North Africa that lies directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain. Morocco’s largest city and major Atlantic Ocean port is Casablanca. The …
https://www.britannica.com/place/Morocco

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Morocco is a unitary semi- constitutional monarchy with an elected parliament. The executive branch is led by the King of Morocco and the prime minister, while legislative power is vested in the two c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dec 8, 2023 · Morocco is a country in North Africa. It is located in the Maghreb region in the Northern and Western Hemisphere regions of the Earth. It is bordered by the two countries of Western Saha…
https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/morocco

+ 1 more evidence source

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.