Region: Southern Africa

Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013, putting an end to the post-war Lancaster House Constitution that had been used as the country’s supreme law since 1980. However, since 2013, very little progress has been made in aligning the country’s laws to the new constitution. The fact that the current constitution and the notion of…

The Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Fund, established by Hivos and the Ford Foundation, is a regional fund committed to supporting initiatives that establish, protect and advance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for all people living in Southern Africa, especially women and children. The right to accessing a safe legal abortion is integral…

Yosef Banda, a Malawi smallholder farmer, like many farmers in Southern Africa, did not produce enough maize in the 2015-2016 farming season. Climatic changes have been wrecking havoc in the region resulting in farmers facing hunger due to worsening droughts. Approximately 70 percent of the people in Southern Africa live in rural areas and depend…

Hivos Southern Africa Hub has been providing support to Alpha Media Holdings, a leading newspaper publisher in Zimbabwe, to conduct dialogues on critical issues facing Zimbabwe. Funding for the conversations is provided by the Embassy of Kingdom of Netherlands (EKN) under the Human Rights Fund (HRF). Hivos Southern Africa in partnership with Alpha Media Holdings (AMH)…

NEWS:The Strategic Partnership Green and Inclusive Energy programme in Africa which will run from 2016-2020 recently launched with a conference held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe from 5-9 September, 2016. Hivos Hubs in Southern Africa and East Africa together with the Global Office organized the five day kickoff meeting with partners to co-create and finalise a…

Since 2015, Hivos Southern Africa has been supporting Her Zimbabwe to augment its capacity to create and share content on gender and rights issues in alternative and engaging formats. Creating more media spaces to access information and share opinions through high-quality, independent journalism is important to Hivos. Freedom of speech is the main measure of…

A community newspaper titled, “Harare News,” has been at the forefront of providing community-based news reporting in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city. The free, monthly community newspaper and online media hub cover places, people and events that are important to the citizens of Harare. Informed citizens are crucial, but information is worthless if it is biased,…

Corruption in Zimbabwe has become endemic within its political, private and civil sectors. According to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2015, Zimbabwe is ranked at 150 out of 168 countries. Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money…

In June, Hivos Southern Africa in partnership with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Malawi launched the Cultural Fund of Malawi (CFM) aimed at contributing to a dynamic, free and diverse cultural sector for improved living standards, economic growth and poverty reduction in Malawi. The CFM, which has a total budget of Euro 481,313, will run…

The high age of consent on average 16-18 years for adolescents and youth to access sexual reproductive health services (SRHS) has proven a barrier to timely interventions in countries across Sub- Saharan Africa.  Although a high age of consent is meant to protect adolescents, the data and evidence shows that vulnerability of adolescents and youth to…

The Zambia Elections Information Centre (ZEIC), a project co-funded by Hivos Southern Africa and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), has been monitoring the electoral process in Zambia. The overall goal of the project is to facilitate effective information management for a credible, peaceful, free and fair 2016 general election in Zambia, taking place…

A new study by the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA) reveals a lack of citizen participation in the budgeting process by the Bulawayo City Council. The study, “A Social Surgery of the Budget Making Process at Local Government Level: Bulawayo City Council in Perspective,” shows that citizens are not involved in the stages of budget…