Wilberforce Namanya is a farmer in Bushenyi District in Western Uganda. Wilberforce and his family live on a hilly unfertile rocky land. Farming on this piece of land has been difficult for a long time. The Namanyas had always dreamt of becoming commercial farmers but this was thwarted by the nature of the land on […]
James Namara is a retired public servant living in Ntungamo district. James constructed his biogas plant in 2010. Since that time, he has been using bio-slurry to fertilize his farm. He developed a lot of interest in the bio-slurry use and production that he has now become a model farmer in his district. He emphasizes […]
Hivos East Africa has received reports about the extra judicial killing of Mr. Erasmus Irumba, Coordinator of the Twerwaneho Listeners Club (TLC). TLC is an NGO based in the Rwenzori region of western Uganda. It promotes human rights advocacy through weekly radio programmes on human rights education and social accountability. Erasmus’ day to day work at […]
What is workplace diversity? This is the question we sought to answer on 5 July 2017 when we congregated in Nairobi with various stakeholders across sectors during the launch of the colorful workplaces programme. I must say I was quite nervous when we were putting this event together. I wondered how it would be received […]
On 6 July in the middle of the night, we received the news that all the participants of a digital security training organised by Hivos in Turkey had been arrested and placed in incommunicado detention. The arrestees include a trainer from Germany, a trainer from Sweden, the director of Amnesty International in Turkey, and individual […]
From 21 to 23 June, over 150 representatives from governments, private sector and civil society gathered in Pretoria, South Africa, for the first global conference of the 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Food Systems (SFS). Hivos, together with the other co-leads of the programme (WWF, and the governments of Switzerland and South Africa), […]
Edward Huizing, executive director of Hivos, which coordinates the Stop Child Labour coalition, signed the International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) Agreement for a responsible gold value chain on June 19, together with Philips, Fairphone, IUCN NL, FNV and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. By signing the agreement, facilitated by the Social and Economic Council of […]
Agriculture forms the backbone of Tanzania’s economy, providing employment to about 80 percent of the population and contributing to 24.5 percent of the country’s GDP. Despite its contribution to food security and livelihoods, the sector faces a number of challenges related to productivity, among them farmers’ access to seeds. This is one of the reasons […]
The World Bank on June 7, 2017 projected Ethiopia as the fastest growing economy in Africa. In a report, Global Economic Prospects: Sub-Saharan Africa, the bank predicted Ethiopia to be at 8.3 per cent followed by Ghana and Tanzania at 7.2 and 7.8 respectively. Does this forecasted growth, however, mean better living standards for its […]
The role of fresh fruits and vegetables in nutrition is well recognized and in recent years, Kenyan consumers have increasingly embraced healthy diet options, therefore consuming more of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain micronutrients, fibres and plant proteins which are important for daily diet, and therefore are integral to a diversified nutritious […]
In September 2015, Governments adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (commonly referred as the Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs) as a response to eradicate poverty. Each year, countries are encouraged to review their progress in implementation of the SDGs. This year, Kenya is among the 44 countries (of which seven are African states) that […]
Marked on 17 May every year, the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) raises awareness on hate crimes, acts of persecution and hatred faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people worldwide. On the eve of IDAHOT, 16 May 2017, Hivos East Africa together with the Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), […]