South Africa: 8WAMM to Increase Funding On Gender Equality
by David Masango

June 3 2007 – (AllAfrica) The upcoming 8th Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting (8WAMM) is set to focus on funding and support to Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working on gender equality.

"The 8WAMM will be held in Kampala, Uganda from 11 to 14 June and it is expected to bring together about 300 representatives from 51 Commonwealth member countries, partner agencies and the private sector," the Commonwealth said in a statement last week.

The delegates will debate women's rights and gender equality under the theme: "Financing gender equality for development and democracy."

The delegates at the four-day conference will amongst others address the tracking of funds and enhancing resources for promoting gender equality, the statement explained.

The conference will also review progress made on the Commonwealth Plan of Action (PoA) for gender equality 2005-2015.

"The plan provides a framework for action in promoting gender equality within the Commonwealth and it reinforces it's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in its approach to gender equality," said the statement.

It adds that 2007 represents the half-way mark to the MDG target end year of 2015 and in that context, the ministerial meeting gave governments and development agencies in the Commonwealth an opportunity to monitor progress they had made and identify areas in which efforts needed to be accelerated.

The Director of the Social Transformation Programmes Division at the Commonwealth Secretariat Ann Keeling said the 8WAMM's theme reflected the growing awareness that women's rights and gender equality were being overlooked in the quest for development, the statement said.

"Our message is that there can be no sustainable development if women and girls are left behind - it is time we put our money where our mouth is and invest in gender equality," Ms Keeling said.

The Secretariat highlighted that in the Commonwealth, the impact of gender inequality was evident in:
maternal and infant deaths; rising HIV/AIDS prevalence among women and girls; more girls out of school than boys; the majority of people living in poverty being women; and the low percentage of female parliamentarians.

Citing "compelling evidence" of a dramatic dip in funding to NGOs championing women's issues, Ms Keeling said their ability to advocate for gender equality and call governments to account had been severely hurt over the past decade.

But she added that a recent recommendation to establish a new, independent United Nations agency for women meant that the tide was finally turning.

She also said the international community had recognised that there could be no development or aid effectiveness without gender equality.

In a message prepared ahead of the meeting, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said resources must be allocated to gender equality and to women's rights if real progress was to be made.

"Areas for our involvement include supporting civil society and the women's movement, and strengthening the structures and the capacity of those involved in promoting equality between the sexes," he said.

Recommendations from the Kampala meeting will be presented for endorsement to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Uganda in November 2007.

The Commonwealth is an association of 53 countries and its nearly two billion citizens, representing about 30 percent of the world's population, are drawn from the broadest range of faiths, races, cultures and traditions.

The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, is the main intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth.

 

From:http://allafrica.com/stories/200706041057.html