About Us
Graça Machel is one of the world’s leading advocates for women’s and children’s rights and has been a social justice and political activist for many decades. She established the Graça Machel Trust in 2010 as a Pan-African advocacy organisation focused on child health and nutrition, education, women’s economic and financial empowerment, leadership and good governance. Over the last nine years, the Trust has worked to “Multiply the Faces and Amplify the Voices” of African women and children. Through our collaboration with partners, at all levels, we have helped promote and strengthen women and children’s networks to drive social and economic change. The Graça Machel Trust acts as a catalyst, working across the continent to advocate for the protection of children’s rights and dignity, and amplify women’s movements by harnessing and promoting their contributions to the economic, social and political development of Africa. We work with global, regional and local partners who are passionate about creating profound change in the issues that we focus on. Through our advocacy efforts we seek to influence decision-makers to the change policies and practices needed to create societies that value social justice, and promote and protect the rights of women and children.
Amplify women’s movements, influence governance and promote women’s contributions and leadership in the economic, social and political development of Africa; and advocate for the protection of children’s rights and dignity.
Values
Integrity
We demonstrate the highest levels of personal and organisational integrity in all areas of our work. We remain permanently guided by the principle of good conduct, responsible behaviour and high integrity in our interactions with partners and collaborators.
Courage
We exercise disciplined risks in our resolve to bring positive change in the lives of women and children across the region and globally. We are prepared to take calculated risks, stand by the decisions we make, challenge ourselves to think outside the box, and deliver innovative programmes.
Excellence
We set ourselves ambitious goals and targets, and consistently strive to deliver excellence in our work. Our ambition is driven by a desire to deliver measurable, high-impact results for women and children, and to ensure value for money for our donors and supporters.
Accountability
We value accountability in all that we do. We are accountable to those we serve as well as those who support our work and give us resources, including our funding partners, friends, and collaborators.
Our Approach
The Trust focuses on early childhood development, nutrition, education, ending child marriage and the economic advancement of women. We establish and support existing networks working in women’s and children’s rights across the continent. Through our work in country we seek to forge national movements, where priorities and the requisite strategies can be identified and tackled to remove structural obstacles.
We connect regional and continental networks to create a groundswell of action-oriented and outcomes-driven results, aimed at transforming African economies and institutions. This approach allows women to take centre stage, creates shifts in mindsets and forges a path to advance social and economic transformation
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.