Electricity drives economic development. But many small community-level businesses and smallholder farmers in rural parts of sub-Saharan Africa need more access to affordable energy financing to thrive. This IIED Debates event organized with Hivos on Monday, 30 November will explore what mechanisms can enable community businesses and farmers to access the financing they need to grow […]

How do artists, musicians and filmmakers increase freedom of expression, collective imagination, community wellbeing, and global solidarity? How can art counter authoritarian narratives and shrinking civic space? How do the forces of art materialize in our different, yet deeply interconnected societies? The answers to these questions can be found in a new book about the […]

At the end of 2019 Hivos commissioned an independent external evaluation of the Open Contracting program. We think the evaluation provided a fair and critical assessment of the achievements and limitations of the Open Contracting program. Read on to learn the lessons on tactics of the Open Contracting program that tended to work well.

LOCI Eastern Europe and Central Asia November 10, 2020 The Local Open Up Contracting Initiatives are proud to host the digital regional meeting this week for representatives of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Are you joining us? Have a look at the program below!

On the road to accountability in Tanzania November 9, 2020 Read the comic strip version of this story    Frustrations lead to new beginnings “It was clear to me that there was a need for such an institution in Tanzania,” says Ludovick Utouh, founder and executive director of the think tank WAJIBU – Institute of Public […]

Across sectors, most leadership and planning positions at the workplace are held by men and as such, very little consideration is given to provisions around menstrual care and products for female employees. Within the horticultural sector this presents a particularly big challenge because low wages directly contribute to period poverty: meaning most women view these products as luxuries when in fact they should be regarded as necessities.

Life happens at the workplace and for millions of women this also means enduring pregnancy and infant loss while working. How can and should employers support parents going through this loss? What does the law say? For women in Uganda’s flower farms, these questions are slowly being answered.

a Force to Push Women in Lebanon Forward November 5, 2020 By Laudy Issa With so many crises simultaneously affecting the country and its citizens in 2020, women’s rights often go underrepresented in the Lebanese media landscape. The Maharat Foundation, a Hivos Women Empowered for Leadership (WE4L) partner that focuses on driving […]

Opening up contracts for a better diet November 3, 2020 Read the comic strip version of this story    Relying on the school meal program in Bolivia “How can I help these children get better and healthier food?” Estefanía Rada remembers asking herself this back when she was working as a volunteer teacher at local schools in […]

One of the most glaring inequalities that plagues humanity continues to be economic inequality. Even more so during the Covid-19 pandemic, the gap between the rich and the poor has been stretched tenfold and the most economically vulnerable in society have borne the brunt of massive layoffs, salary reductions and inflation.