Did you know that 60 percent of the people in the world throw out perfectly good food because of its expiry date or because they no longer want to consume it? According to data from the Government of Jakarta, each citizen wastes 0,5 kg of food a day, which means Jakarta produces approximately 7500 tonnes […]
In Southern Africa, as in many parts of Africa, menstruation, which should be a sign of transition into womanhood, poses a threat to young girls’ development. Because menstruation is regarded as a taboo, and the cost of sanitary wear and towels is beyond the reach of many, young women and girls are forced to suffer […]
Why the Lebanese presidential election was not a laughing matter for women November 7, 2016 The 31st of October was not a particularly good day for Lebanese women. An overhead visual of the Lebanese parliament reminded us of the stark reality that we have only 4 women MPs, that’s 3 % of the total number […]
The Chipendeke Micro Hydro scheme is located approximately 80 kilometers south of Mutare, Zimbabwe’s fourth largest capital city. It provides a compelling example of how building the renewable energy value chain is essential to providing sustainable, renewable energy access to a remote, rural area. (A ‘value chain’ is the whole series of activities that create and […]
12 October 2016 – blog post by Mareike Britten, Advocacy Officer for Renewable Energy at Hivos Global Office Sulis Setiawati plucks some fresh vegetables from a field and smiles: “Thanks to the solar irrigation, farmers can now grow a range of fresh vegetables when in the past they had to survive from growing corn and […]
The #HappyFlow campaign is lobbying for free sanitary wear to be distributed in public schools and public spaces in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The campaign is premised on the idea that sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) matter, therefore every human who experiences menstruation has a right to sanitary wear. Katswe Sistahood, […]
Climate change is already having an impact on agriculture with severe implications for food security, according to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The report “The State of Food and Agriculture: Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security” states that smallholder agriculture, which is predominant in Zambia, is particularly vulnerable to climate […]
Bringing together thinkers and creative doers from throughout the world: that is what Hivos, Baltan Laboratories and Dutch Design Week’s Age of Wonderland programme does. The aim of Age of Wonderland at the Dutch Design Week is to devise innovative answers to problems, like inequality and environmental degradation. Mayan philosopher and spiritual leader Branly Lopéz from Guatemala – […]
The age of consent in terms of accessing sexual reproductive health (SRH) services such as contraceptives and HIV counselling and testing is not provided for in laws and policies in the majority of countries in Southern Africa. This has created barriers for young people to access SHR services. To address this critical barrier preventing youth […]
In partnership with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Women on the Frontline programme is honoured to have organised the ‘Women on the Frontline: THEIR STORIES’ film screening, the second in a series of screenings around the world. Three films depicting the experiences of three activists from Syria, Iraq, and Yemen were […]
Sanitary wear is considered a luxury item that is often sold at prohibitive prices for the majority of girls and women living in Southern Africa. As a result, girls who are menstruating are reluctant to go to school if they cannot afford sanitary pads or may engage in transactional sex to pay for them. Many […]