Need to Know
02 : 12 : 22

Tanzania – Can more considered housing improve family health? It’s a question being answered by The Star Homes Project, which consists of 110 identical, single-family structures built throughout 60 villages in rural Mtwara, one of the more underdeveloped regions of the country.

‘To our knowledge, it is the first time that a new house has been used as a unit of randomisation in a clinical trial,’ say the global multidisciplinary team behind the project.

In development for over a decade, the project will explore ways to develop novel, low-cost, comfortable and insect-proof housing to enhance the health of people in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa – often with a high incidence of malaria, respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea. These houses form the basis of a trial, which aims to provide robust data to show whether improved housing can improve family health.

‘In the long term, we hope that elements of the [house’s] design, such as elevated screened bedrooms, will find broader uptake and integration in the millions of new houses required for the rapidly growing population of Africa.’

Uncover more insights about domestic design in our Home & Family Series while we delve into sustainable building in our Sustainability and Climate Crisis Series.

China – By 2025, the total size of the country’s outdoor sports industry is expected to surpass £348bn (Rmb3 trillion, $426bn, €406.6bn) – that’s according to a development plan recently released by the country's General Administration of Sport.

Huang Haidong, a senior researcher at Chinese fitness platform Keep, told China People’s Daily: ‘While growing stronger, we have also witnessed the meteoric rise of China's sports industry.’ Keep has seen its revenue increase from £35m (Rmb300m, $42.6m, €40.6m) to £93m (Rmb800m, $113.6m, €108m) in the past five years.

Outdoor sports, including camping, cycling and running, have become increasingly popular among Chinese people. Mountain climbing, hiking, skiing, canoeing and paragliding have also flourished – an array of sports that have brought with them new product ranges in the Chinese market. Now, these new Chinese outdoor sports enthusiasts are looking for more social interactions with their leisure pursuits, according to China People's Daily, with the country seeing an opportunity to promote natural resources, nurture enterprises to produce more specialist products and incorporate the sector into the digital world.

You can explore more global insights and opportunities in our Markets coverage.