Region: East Africa
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Calling for openness in Kenya’s Covid-19 management
By Sally Akinyi and Mumbi Mugo The Covid-19 pandemic continues to have far-reaching consequences globally. Countries have been ravaged socially and economically, with public health systems on the brink of collapse and job losses rivaling the Great Depression. While governments have been swift to cushion citizens with medical responses, lockdowns and economic stimulus packages, too…
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IDAHOT 2021: economic hardship and funding gaps impacting the LGBTIQ+ community
For the second time, we celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia during the Covid-19 pandemic. As we reflected last year, the LGBTIQ+ community has been disproportionately impacted. Limited access to economic support programs and redirection of funds means that the longer this pandemic lasts, the harder it will be for the LGBTIQ+…
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IDAHOT 2021 – Together: Resisting, supporting and healing!
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted people’s lives socially and economically in a global challenge the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. While many governments were swift to implement economic stimulus packages, lockdowns and curfews, marginalized groups such as LGBTIQ+ persons, women and sex workers found themselves at the margins of these responses and…
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Moving to the South
“Decolonizing the development sector” started as a radical idea to rethink power structures in the social justice debate. It has now become an uncomfortable reality that many international NGOs and the philanthropy world have to grapple with. The term “decolonizing”, which also evokes historical struggles for independence, calls for structural change in more than just…
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Bringing renewed energy to the development sector’s push for change
By Diana Monissen, Chair of Hivos’ Supervisory Council The world’s social problems have increased significantly in the last several decades. It’s quite a litany when you think about it. Poverty, corruption, climate change, power imbalances, forced migration, shrinking civic space, human rights defenders under duress, and growing inequalities faced by marginalized groups. This is why…
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Open data in strengthening the COVID-19 response and management
What a time to celebrate open data day! The open data day finds itself uniquely placed this year. Not only is it International Women’s Day and Women’s history Month within March 2021, but the world is going through a pandemic where open data has been considered a major life saver. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed…
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It’s simple: #WeWomxnAboutIt
Our Manifesto ‘’Womxn. We are more. We work more. We carry more. We achieve more. We stand for more. We feel more. We. Women.More. Why?, you ask. Simple, Because we womxn about it.’’ For years, Hivos East Africa has been an ally of gender equality, inclusion and diversity; challenging harmful stereotypes against womxn in society…
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Rescinding the Global Gag Rule: a new day for women’s rights
Hivos welcomes the decision of US President Joe Biden to rescind the Mexico City Policy, commonly known as the Global Gag Rule (GGR). It banned international NGOs from accessing USD 8.8 billion in aid meant for the health sector, upon which millions of women globally depend for reproductive health goods and services. While this repeal…
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Promote local solutions to counter the global climate change crisis
Climate change is one of the greatest existential threats of our time today. For decades it has consistently destroyed the foundations of human civilization exposing the most vulnerable communities, which don’t have the power or the means to fully protect themselves from the destruction caused by global warming. Worse still, these devastating effects are fuelling…
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Hivos charts new strategic course
We find ourselves at a moment in time when the true extent of the challenges facing the world has been thrown into stark relief. To ensure Hivos remains well-equipped to address these challenges – together with our partners and allies – we have adopted a new strategic direction. In a nutshell, Hivos will bring more…
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Uganda: Freedom of Expression Essential for Democracy to Prevail
By Sally Akinyi and Churchill Ongere As Ugandans headed to the polls yesterday, the country and the East African region at large was deeply worried by an election cycle marked by prolonged periods of protest, police brutality, and undue restrictions of civil liberties like free expression, association, and access to information. Close to one hundred…
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A Reflection on Five Years of the Green and Inclusive Energy Programme: Success Stories from East Africa
In the past few years, it’s clear that the discourse around energy access has changed in East Africa. While previously renewable energy was often dismissed as not being capable of helping a country to achieve “development”, there has been a significant shift in the perspectives of governments and funders. Commitments to achieving Sustainable Energy for…
