GraƧa Machel, Founder, GraƧa Machel Trust Ā The global family should be deeply troubled about the investments we are making in the young girls throughout the African continent. Africa has have committed to ensuring all girls and boys will have access to early childhood education and complete quality primary and secondary education by 2030.Ā But
GraƧa Machel, Founder, GraƧa Machel Trust Ā āAll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.ā These simple but powerful words are the first line of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations at an extraordinary meeting in London seventy years ago, in 1948. Ā But
GraƧa Machel, Founder, GraƧa Machel Trust Ā From the beginning, Mandela was a visionary and influential political figure. For those of us who knew and loved him, Madiba will forever be the man who, together with his generation, led his people to freedom. Ā In these troubled and turbulent times, where faith in leaders is
GraƧa Machel, Founder, GraƧa Machel Trust Ā In 2005, Nelson Mandela announced to the world that his son, Makgatho, had died of an AIDS-related illness. āLet us give publicity to HIV/AIDS and not hide it,ā he pleaded. It was a brave move at a time when the disease still carried tremendous stigmaāand one that marked
By GraƧa Machel, Chair, International Board of Trustees, African Child Policy Forum Ā We find ourselves at the crossroads of a very opportune time for Africa. The continent has the fastest growing population in the world. The stark reality of this demographic trend is that now, more than ever, it is of critical importance to
By: GraƧa Machel, Board Chair, African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) Ā The legendary editor of the Guardian newspaper, CP Scott, famously declared that āComment is free,Ā but facts are sacred.ā Unfortunately, when it comes to hard evidence on how many children worldwide are locked up in prisons, detention centres, migrant and refugee camps, rehabilitation units or
Andia Chakava, the Trust's Investment Director and Chairperson of New Faces New Voices Kenya Chapter, Women in Finance for the GraƧa Machel Trust successfully convened and led the I AM 2.0 Initiative. Ā The initiative seeks to build on the successes and lessons of the I AM 1.0 campaign to further generate innovative solutions in
"There is power in your story, no matter how devastatingā ā Oprah Winfrey Ā It was an exciting day as the GraƧa Machel Trust, The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Kuhluka Movement witnessed multitudes of people as they came together to host Oprah Winfrey pay tribute to Nelson Mandela at the Soweto campus of the University
Photo Credit: AfDB Group Ā African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina, honoured Mrs. GraƧa Machel as the first Kofi A. Annan Eminent Persons Speaker, which is a new name for the Bankās African Development Instituteās Eminent Speaker Series. This took place during the 22nd Eminent Speakersā Lecture of the African Development Institute in
Ā The 2018 High Level Policy Dialogue on Transforming Africaās Agriculture was held from the 20th to the 22nd of November in Maputo, Mozambique. The Dialogue was a collaborative effort of four organizations - the Mandela Institute or Development Studies (MINDS), the Food, Agriculture and Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), the GraƧa Machel Trust (GMT), and
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenās rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Childrenās Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsā health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trustās goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a motherās health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childās life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.