The HQ Beat Vol. 1 No. 20

Pẹlẹ o from the HQ Squad

This year's theme for World TEacher's Day was 'Teachers at the heart of education recovery' which sought to honour the efforts that teachers have made to keep classes going throughout the pandemic. Teachers have had to be adaptable and offer as much stability as possible for learners during the most disruptive period in recent history. As schools reopen, UNESCO has urged nations to prioritise teachers when it comes to vaccine deployment. In Africa, they are Priority 1 in Kenya, Uganda, Cote d'Ivoire and Morocco. More can be done to ensure teachers' safety and wellbeing, so that they can continue to do one of the most important, jobs in the world.

Enjoy your read.


Performance artist, writer and artivist Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile writes about how she opened herself up to creative inquiry and experimentation when the world pushed in around her and felt constricting and small.

Unhinge. Unhinge.
Katlego K Kolanyane-Kesupile; performance artist, musician, writer and artivist writes about her experimental and experiential creative process.

Being able to meet the shifting needs of Africa's growth and development projections begins with with empowering learners on the continent for the future. Teachers play an integral role here. While some have posited that Sub-Saharan Africa will need an additional 15 million teachers by 2030, those currently in service are in need of poilcy change and attentiveness to their wellbeing in order to support the role they will play in post-Covid edcuation recovery. This piece in the Financial Times examines the issues.

Teachers must be at the heart of post-Covid education recovery
Policymakers too often fail to grasp frontline needs in low-income countries

Hannington Bugingo, Managing Director of the Fun Factory in Uganda, shares his story about how he survived the pandemic, and the role that shifting their comedy and acting skits online had on the company's creative work.


The gradual lowering of Covid-19 restrictions has resulted in a surge in regional travel, but increased ticket prices and Covid testing requirements have driven the cost of travel up significantly.

Expensive PCR Covid-19 tests inhibiting regional travel in Africa | Fin24
A major inhibitor to the recovery of regional travel in Africa is that most countries require a PCR Covid-19 test, says the head of aviation finance for Africa at Investec.
“Double-testing” for Covid-19 in west Africa is significantly driving up travel costs
Most west African countries do not only require a negative Covid-19 test from a passenger’s country of departure, but also an additional test upon arrival.

While a number of reports and articles have painted a gloomy picture for Africa's post-Covid economic recovery, The Africa Report shares a more optimistic view.

Coronavirus: African economies are bouncing back post Covid-19
Analysts project that Africa’s economy will grow by 4.45% in 2021, citing reduced Covid-19 caseloads despite slow vaccine rollout.

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Photo by Moses Matofu Makokha