The Expert Leaders Group (ELG) is a high-level expert group of strong African women leaders in the finance sector that are driving systemic actions to advance women’s active participation in the digital economy. In 2021, the Graça Machel Trust convened the ELG under the leadership of H.E Mrs Graça Machel, consisting of female Deputy Governors of Central Banks, financial regulators and senior financial sector leaders to elevate the voices of African women.
These priorities help build inclusive economies and institutions that respond to the needs of women. The ELG represents the five African regions and collaborates with the Trusts’ Women’s sector-based Networks to build stronger political will and investment in a COVID-19 recovery agenda that is gendered and promotes accountability for action. The Trust’s Networks will provide a solid national footprint and jointly work as a collective of actors as an ecosystem for change.
The Expert Leaders group aims to seize the urgency of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to advocate for gender inclusiveness in relief, recovery responses and a reconstruction agenda. This is in the context of pre-existing entrenched structural barriers and social and economic inequalities that disproportionately affect women, worsening due to the pandemic.
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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.