Friday, July 14, 2017
Urban farms are taking root in Zimbabwe
Goodbye, soil. Hello, fish waste. As climate change and migration to cities influence Zimbabwe’s food production, farmers are perfecting new methods of sustainable urban farming like aquaponics, a soil-less system that grows fish and plants together to produce crops like tomatoes and strawberries. Some public schools and colleges have even started to include aquaponics in their curricula.
Delhi will launch a new app for improving public restrooms
Delhi is getting down to business with its new toilet app. Within the next two months, the app will be helping users find public restrooms across the Indian city of more than 25 million people. Not only will users be able to rate their experience at said restrooms, but they’ll also be able to report issues such as cleanliness and inaccessibility for people with disabilities.
In December 2016, ActionAid surveyed 229 restrooms across India and found that only 149 had women’s facilities. In many instances, “missing doors and locks made it impossible for women to use them [the toilets].” The study was conducted as part of ActionAid India’s People’s Vision of the City campaign, which also sought to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and of street children.
Honduras bans early marriage
No exceptions. On Tuesday Honduras raised the minimum marriage age from 16 to 18 and banned children under 18 from getting married even with parental approval. Child marriage affects girls disproportionately and puts them at higher risk of sexual and domestic abuse. Opponents of early marriage hope this new law allows more girls to have access to education and employment.
While ActionAid does not operate in Honduras, we work in 17 countries across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to end child marriage.