By Elena Flores Ruiz
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On Friday, 11 October 2019, we had the pleasure to celebrate the fifth edition of the IFAD Gender Awards at our headquarters in Rome, kindly sponsored by the Government of Spain.
Project representatives and implementing partners, IFAD member states, staff and development practitioners, gathered at IFAD to the achievements of the best-performing projects in meeting the strategic objectives of the IFAD Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and have driven innovative changes.
The event offered also an opportunity, in anticipation of the International Day of Rural Women (15 October), to celebrate women and girls who play a key role in rural areas and those development efforts that contribute to gender transformation improving the lives of thousands of rural women and girls.
In rural areas, women and girls represent a keystone for gender equality, transformation, empowerment and change. Through the winning projects, there was an increase in household income, a greater participation of women in decision-making and a significant reduction in women’s workload by providing them with savings. We want these projects become sustainable over time.
From West and Central Africa, the Youth Agropastoral Entrepreneurship Promotion Programme from Cameroon (GFP: Ndomo Ngono Josiane Nadège) looked to innovate and integrate the specific needs of women, such as medical care and nutrition subsidies, and focused on the development of business managed by young people in Cameroon.
From Latin America and the Caribbean, the winner was the Sustainable Rural Development Programme for the Northern Region (PRONENORTE) (GFP: Neida Mollinedo). It created new business plans that allowed community savings, income generation through natural resources and better living conditions. To boost their economic empowerment, the project is supporting women in various ways.
From East and Southern Africa was the Sustainable Agricultural Production Programme, in Malawi (GFP: Kenneth Welman Chaula), that boosted the role of women in decision-making, representing the 30 per cent of women in decision-making bodies. Its aim was to promote a household approach in target villages, reducing the workload of women and improving access and control of assets and benefits. It also focused on enhancing the project focuses on enhancing the agricultural productivity and food security of rural women and their families through simple, affordable income‑generating technologies.
From the Asia and the Pacific Region, in Pakistan, was the Pakistani Southern Punjab Alleviation Project (GFP: Muhammad Imran Nazir), a climate-safe project that promoted hygiene and created functional houses with running water. Also in this project women benefited from vocational training that led to a higher primary school enrolment. The project has adopted a unique poverty graduation approach for the ultra-poor and poor.
From the Near East, North Africa and Europe was the Murat River Watershed Rehabilitation Project in Turkey (GFP: Duygu Arduç). It helped to mitigate the impact of environmental disasters and helped women to earn more income from agricultural production. The project introduced innovative energy-saving technologies. To date, 3,200 households have received solar panels, 2,300 have benefited from insulation and 4,600 are using energy-efficient stoves. This has contributed to a significant reduction in women’s workload.
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On Friday, 11 October 2019, we had the pleasure to celebrate the fifth edition of the IFAD Gender Awards at our headquarters in Rome, kindly sponsored by the Government of Spain.
Project representatives and implementing partners, IFAD member states, staff and development practitioners, gathered at IFAD to the achievements of the best-performing projects in meeting the strategic objectives of the IFAD Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and have driven innovative changes.
The event offered also an opportunity, in anticipation of the International Day of Rural Women (15 October), to celebrate women and girls who play a key role in rural areas and those development efforts that contribute to gender transformation improving the lives of thousands of rural women and girls.
In rural areas, women and girls represent a keystone for gender equality, transformation, empowerment and change. Through the winning projects, there was an increase in household income, a greater participation of women in decision-making and a significant reduction in women’s workload by providing them with savings. We want these projects become sustainable over time.
From West and Central Africa, the Youth Agropastoral Entrepreneurship Promotion Programme from Cameroon (GFP: Ndomo Ngono Josiane Nadège) looked to innovate and integrate the specific needs of women, such as medical care and nutrition subsidies, and focused on the development of business managed by young people in Cameroon.
From Latin America and the Caribbean, the winner was the Sustainable Rural Development Programme for the Northern Region (PRONENORTE) (GFP: Neida Mollinedo). It created new business plans that allowed community savings, income generation through natural resources and better living conditions. To boost their economic empowerment, the project is supporting women in various ways.
From East and Southern Africa was the Sustainable Agricultural Production Programme, in Malawi (GFP: Kenneth Welman Chaula), that boosted the role of women in decision-making, representing the 30 per cent of women in decision-making bodies. Its aim was to promote a household approach in target villages, reducing the workload of women and improving access and control of assets and benefits. It also focused on enhancing the project focuses on enhancing the agricultural productivity and food security of rural women and their families through simple, affordable income‑generating technologies.
From the Asia and the Pacific Region, in Pakistan, was the Pakistani Southern Punjab Alleviation Project (GFP: Muhammad Imran Nazir), a climate-safe project that promoted hygiene and created functional houses with running water. Also in this project women benefited from vocational training that led to a higher primary school enrolment. The project has adopted a unique poverty graduation approach for the ultra-poor and poor.
From the Near East, North Africa and Europe was the Murat River Watershed Rehabilitation Project in Turkey (GFP: Duygu Arduç). It helped to mitigate the impact of environmental disasters and helped women to earn more income from agricultural production. The project introduced innovative energy-saving technologies. To date, 3,200 households have received solar panels, 2,300 have benefited from insulation and 4,600 are using energy-efficient stoves. This has contributed to a significant reduction in women’s workload.
The event was accompanied by a share fair where the winning projects presented a wide range of products (art crafts, textiles, chocolate, honey and jam, etc.). It offered an opportunity to interact with the project representatives and know more about programme activities.
Taking place each two years, we have been proud to honour these champions and their achievements on gender equality and women empowerment.
