Africa

In East Africa, politics and the church propagate the idea that homosexuality is "un-African". In order to maintain their own power. However, queer life and love has always existed in Uganda. Homophobia, on the contrary, can be called a colonial import. We spoke with Ssenfuka Joanita Warry about queer activism in Uganda and why she takes every opportunity, she can to speak out and fight misconceptions about homosexuality.

Queer feminism allows us to understand that patriarchy harms all of us and only an intersectional approach enables collective liberation and working together in solidarity. Queer resistance can also be fun - and sometimes a dandy outfit is enough to make patriarchy shake. We talked to Yvee Oduor about activism and mobilization of genderqueer people in Kenya.

The Kenyan Route to Food Initiative (RTFI) is a food rights programme of the Heinrich Böll Foundation based in Nairobi with the aim of promoting innovative discussions and solutions to the problem of chronic food insecurity in Kenya.

The recent protests under the #EndSARS movement may be an indication of a new political era as young people find their voices and the courage to demand better governance.  

Senegal is not spared the consequences of Covid-19. How does Covid-19 change the conditions under which food is produced and traded? We take a closer look at food systems in Africa talked to an expert on sustainable development issues in rural areas.

Mary Afan, president of the Small-Scale Women Farmers Organisation in Nigeria (SWOFON), talked to hbs about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on small-scale farmers, government’s response and what could be done to help them weather the crisis.

Nigeria stands at the very brink of its own COVID-19 epidemic. However, the country has been in the grips of serious crisis for weeks: the collapse in oil prices has led to brutal budget cuts and provokes a recession in the country, which depends heavily on oil exports. The timing could not be worse in view of the forthcoming pandemic challenges.

With only three day notice, South Africa went into full lockdown on the night from 26 to 27 March. What happened in the three days leading up the lockdown is highly impressive. Instead of everyone following the instinct of making provision for themselves, neighbourhood solidarity networks sprang up spontaneously.