This year’s international Women’s Day theme is Better the Balance, better the world. We asked members of our networks what this year’s theme means to them. This is what they had to say:
- “As a media manager, better balance means more women in decision making positions and increased voices of women in the news for a balanced perspective of society,”- Emeldal Musonda- WiMN Member, Zambia
- “Better the balance, less the stress in the work place because women and men compliment each other and strike the emotional balance , the better the world,”- Ruth Kanyanga Kamwi- WiMN Member, Zambia
- “As a journalist better balance means telling our own stories on people who are able to live in the solution and not just around pain and suffering or romanticized success,”- Brenda Okoth – WiMN Member, Kenya
- “As a journalist better balance means more successful stories of women told in the media,”- Selma Inocência- WiMN Member, Mozambique
- “As a political affairs officer better balance means listening to all stakeholders to get the full picture of challenges and better determine how the various parties, including women and youth, can participate in prevention efforts,” –Habibou Bangré- WiMN Member, DRC
- “As a musician/culture journalist better balance means more opportunities for conscious African female voices in our story telling,” –Caroline Uliwa- WiMN Member, Tanzania
- “As a Journalist, better balance means giving women the opportunity to work like their male peers, without any prejudices,”- Eleanor Ayuketah- WiMN Member,
- “Gender equity means equality, fairness and a balance in treatment of women and men, according to their respective needs, Balance is no longer an aim but an ‘expectation’ demanding fulfilment. EVERYONE has a part to play – all the time, everywhere – to build a gender-balanced world,”- Yetunde Okafor, NFNV Nigeria
Read more about what the Trust is doing in partnership with its network of women here
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s 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 Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ 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 Trust’s 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 mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.