Region: East Africa
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Fostering citizens’ trust through an Open Government
Kenyans seem to be an angry lot. This is true if we consider the suspicions, distrust and cynicism with which government’s pronouncements on COVID-19 have been met. What began as a public health emergency has morphed into a trust crisis. Granted, a modest dose of citizenry suspicion is deemed necessary for a healthy democracy. Trust…
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Working from home – coping with irregular power supply in Kenya
In these uncertain times, we are confronted by a new model of operation, for most of us, which is working from home. As organizations and individuals transition to this new way of operation and activation of business continuity plans, putting our employees first and ensuring that they can deliver while working remotely is of utmost…
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Open Government Week
Civil society efforts in OGP are winning The growing need for governments to foster transparent and accountability has been apparent in current times. Ideals of populism have been on the rise with trust in governments slowly waning due to corruption and lack of openness in the use of public funds. We have observed how cultures…
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Media survival more critical than ever
In normal times, the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) celebrations would have been held on May 3 then COVID-19 happened. Though the WPFD celebrations (through a conference) have been moved to October 18- 20 2020, this year’s theme hasn’t changed. The focus still remains taking action to secure independent journalism. There is a feeling amongst…
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The unseen link between clean cooking and the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and revealed to what extent current economic models are not sustainable. It has also shown that most countries are not equipped to cope with a health crisis. The World Food Program is warning that the lives and livelihoods of 265 million people in low and middle-income countries will be…
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Webinar on data driven reporting during COVID-19
Hivos will be hosting an online conversation for and by journalists on data driven reporting. Join us on 4 May 2020 at 9 AM EDT / 4 PM EAT / 9 PM PST. Across the world, the investigative data-driven journalism community has been reporting the Covid-19 crisis. However, collecting and reporting critical public health data…
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How citizens engage in governance processes
By the Busara team, In the past few years, Kenya has consistently fallen below the Sub-Saharan average index score on Transparency International’s annual ranking on corruption perceptions. This index captures citizens’ and experts’ perceptions of corruption within a country, and often reflects citizens’ level of involvement in issues of governance. Kenya (28 points) is well…
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Reproductive health rights for teenagers and adolescents during COVID 19
According to WHO an estimated 21 million girls aged between 15–19 years in developing countries become pregnant with 12 million of them giving birth annually. Approximately 770,000 births have been recorded among girls under 15 years of age in the developing world. The teenage pregnancies crisis affects both the developed and developing countries. They are…
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COVID-19: a wake-up call to rebuild our global food system
Instead of treating the COVID-19 outbreak as a stand-alone crisis, we should acknowledge that it is a symptom of something larger. Namely, the disruption and destruction of natural ecosystems and biodiversity, which has brought us much closer to wild animals – and their viruses. And our globalized food system is a strong driver of this…
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‘Taarap’ and Zanzibar’s DJ in a hijab
Stone Town Records was founded 5 years ago with three friends whose paths crossed at the Dar es Salaam University in Tanzania during a students’ exchange program. Housed along the Stone Town streets in Zanzibar- the roots of the renowned Taarab music – Stone Town Records emerged as a community of artists who came together…
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What lockdowns mean for food security in East Africa
Festivities to mark a new year and decade have been short-lived the world over as the first months of 2020 witnessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parts of Africa were already plagued by desert locusts, but before these could be tackled, the new corona virus arrived. This has created a double pandemic for some…
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Access to healthy food crucial in the fight against COVID-19
Open-air markets are a crucial link in the access to healthy food for many in Uganda and Kenya. Consumers and small- scale traders are under threat as governments restrict public gatherings in the face of COVID-19. In East Africa, open-air markets are important places that tens of thousands of consumers and small-scale traders are reliant on for…
