PRESS RELEASE FOR ACBF BOOK LAUNCH

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE

2 October 2009

BOOK LAUNCH: “GENDER BUDGETING AS A TOOL FOR POVERTY REDUCTION”

The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) in collaboration with the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is pleased to announce the launch of a research book “Gender Budgeting As A Tool For Poverty Reduction” - Concepts, Practices & Capacity Implications.

The publication marks an important chapter in the African Capacity Building Foundation’s contribution to the discourse and funding initiatives on gender budgeting. The book not only identifies areas of possible capacity development in support of the development processes on the Continent, it also highlights capacity weaknesses in gender budgeting that need to be addressed by different stakeholders, in order to raise the standard of accountability and transparency in budgetary processes. Drawing on the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) framework, the publication further highlights national and sectoral gender budgeting experiences in three African countries – South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda – to showcase best-practice models for other African countries.

Findings from “Gender Budgeting As A Tool For Poverty Reduction - Concepts, Practices & Capacity Implications” indicate that:

“Budgets are not gender neutral. They affect women and men in different ways, reflecting the uneven distribution of power within society as economic disparities, different living conditions, and ascribed social roles. Despite being signatories to the major international agreements that call for gender equality, most African countries have fallen short of their promises as their gender initiatives are facing a host of challenges relating to policy implementation, program design, management and tracking, and capacity building issues.”

ENDS




About ACBF
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) is an independent, capacity-building institution established on February 9, 1991 through the collaborative efforts of three multilateral institutions -the African Development Bank (AfDB), the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), African governments and bilateral donors. ACBF has 48 full members comprising three sponsoring Agencies (AfDB, UNDP and the World Bank), the IMF and 44 African and non-African countries, namely, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (DRC), Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Djibouti, Finland, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, India, Ireland, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, The Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Rwanda, Sao Tomé & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe. ACBF’s mission is to build sustainable human and institutional capacity for poverty reduction in Africa.

About AWDF
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) is a grant-making foundation, which supports local, national and regional organizations in Africa working towards women’s empowerment. AWDF through institutional capacity building and program development seeks to build a culture of learning and partnerships within the African women’s movement.
The vision of AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women’s human rights. To this end, our mission is to mobilize financial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, which will lead to the achievement of this vision.

Press Enquiries
Nana Sekyiamah – Programme Officer (Fundraising & Communications)
Thelma Owusu-Boakye – Programme Assistant (Fundraising & Communications)
African Women’s Development Fund
Plot 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra
Tel: + 233 21 521257
Fax: +233 21 521257
Email: nana@awdf.org or thelma@awdf.org
Website: www.awdf.org


Rutendo Kambarami
Communications Officer
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Tel: +263-4-700208/790398/9
Fax: +263-4-702915, 792894
E-mail: r.kambarami@acbf-pact.org
Website: www.acbf-pact.org