Finally, I am blogging

I have never, until now, been interested in starting a science blog. Then I attended a session in the 8th World conference of science journalists in Helsinki, Finland, last week and relented. Thanks to a session on ‘The rise of the science blog network’ produced by Deborah Blum. The Guardian and Scientific American representatives gave talks, mentioning their need to expand their reach. Their was no mention of Africa in their expansion plans and so during the discussion session, I asked why they had left the continent out. The answer was simple:- the African science bloggers need to raise their profile. We don’t know of them.

With the encouragement of Mish Middelmann from South Africa, I set up this blog a few hours after the talk on 26th June. My first post was a piece of work I wrote in 2011 that no editor has been interested in. It’s a topic that for a couple of weeks, I studied enthusiastically, to fight my huge phobia about snakes.

I started this blog to raise the profile of science in Africa, to talk about the health issues of concern in my continent. With time, I hope we science bloggers of Africa will have a louder voice that will be impossible to ignore.