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
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
HAPPY 43rd INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY
Dear Friends,
Today, September 8 is the International Literacy Day. The 43rd to be celebrated since it was initiated by UNESCO in 1965. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. According to UNESCO, Some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. After this distressing statistics shouldn’t we count ourselves lucky to be among the privileged few that have acquired this fantastic skill? Back in secondary school, literature my best subject and oh, how I used to look forward to Mr. Hardy’s class. Mr. Hardy will come into class and give the students who were not ‘offering’ literature, popularly called the ‘illiterates’ one second to ‘disappear from view’ or else ‘face the hard consequences’. Mr. Hardy’s presence alone was enough to get my ‘illiterate’ classmates scampering for the nearest exit, be it a window or a door, at the risk receiving a hard knock on the head. Their offence being the ‘darkness’ refusing to leave when the ‘light’ came in!
Back then we would read volumes and volumes of the written word, yet we never seemed to get enough of it. As I was reminiscing this morning on the International Literacy day, I had to ask myself questions like ‘what happened to that passion for reading? When was the last time I read a book from cover to cover? How many women would have welcomed the opportunity I got, which I have been taking for granted? The last question that jolted me up from bed was ‘IF I CAN READ AND DON’T READ THEN WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND PEOPLE WHO CANNOT READ?
Literacy goes beyond just the ability to read and write. Reports have clearly shown a connection between illiteracy and countries in severe poverty, and between illiteracy and prejudice against women. There is something you can do to make a difference in the life of a child today and you really do not have to invest millions. Something as little as helping buy a child’s school uniform or books once in a while will go a long way. Using the literacy skills you have acquired will also help. Remember, if you don’t use it, you will lose it.
I had been informed that once upon a time at AWDF there was this club called a Book Club which is now comatose. As a tribute to the ILD perhaps we should revive it. Good thing the resource centre is in the process of restocking. Last week we added 26 volumes to what we already have and more are coming soon from CODESRIA. I would like to propose that we use the staff skills building meeting in October to re-activate the Club. Your thoughts are much appreciated.
Roselynn Musa
Today, September 8 is the International Literacy Day. The 43rd to be celebrated since it was initiated by UNESCO in 1965. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. According to UNESCO, Some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. After this distressing statistics shouldn’t we count ourselves lucky to be among the privileged few that have acquired this fantastic skill? Back in secondary school, literature my best subject and oh, how I used to look forward to Mr. Hardy’s class. Mr. Hardy will come into class and give the students who were not ‘offering’ literature, popularly called the ‘illiterates’ one second to ‘disappear from view’ or else ‘face the hard consequences’. Mr. Hardy’s presence alone was enough to get my ‘illiterate’ classmates scampering for the nearest exit, be it a window or a door, at the risk receiving a hard knock on the head. Their offence being the ‘darkness’ refusing to leave when the ‘light’ came in!
Back then we would read volumes and volumes of the written word, yet we never seemed to get enough of it. As I was reminiscing this morning on the International Literacy day, I had to ask myself questions like ‘what happened to that passion for reading? When was the last time I read a book from cover to cover? How many women would have welcomed the opportunity I got, which I have been taking for granted? The last question that jolted me up from bed was ‘IF I CAN READ AND DON’T READ THEN WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND PEOPLE WHO CANNOT READ?
Literacy goes beyond just the ability to read and write. Reports have clearly shown a connection between illiteracy and countries in severe poverty, and between illiteracy and prejudice against women. There is something you can do to make a difference in the life of a child today and you really do not have to invest millions. Something as little as helping buy a child’s school uniform or books once in a while will go a long way. Using the literacy skills you have acquired will also help. Remember, if you don’t use it, you will lose it.
I had been informed that once upon a time at AWDF there was this club called a Book Club which is now comatose. As a tribute to the ILD perhaps we should revive it. Good thing the resource centre is in the process of restocking. Last week we added 26 volumes to what we already have and more are coming soon from CODESRIA. I would like to propose that we use the staff skills building meeting in October to re-activate the Club. Your thoughts are much appreciated.
Roselynn Musa
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