 16 July, 2019 â Pretoria  The past 12 months have been characterized by a worsening of the food security and nutrition situation in southern Africa. The regionâs current food and nutrition status is dire, compared to the same time last year. According to the Southern Africa Development Communityâs (SADC) Food and Nutrition Security
Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) partner to bolster women entrepreneurs in East Africa 2X Challenge Members inaugurate competition to empower women entrepreneurs in East Africa  Nairobi, Kenya â July11, 2019 â Leading development finance institutions(DFIs) including FinDevCanada, Commonwealth Development Corporation Group (CDC) of the United Kingdom, Proparco of France and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
FAO Conference The Forty-first Session of McDougall Memorial Lecture, 22-29 June 2019, Rome In Honour of Frank L. McDougall Delivered by Graça Machel, Chair of the Board of the Graça Machel Trust Thank you for the honour to address you this morning! I am not a diplomat, so I must provide a disclaimer at the outset
 There is an emerging narrative that seems to emphasize that childrenâs rights must not be presented as exclusive but should also come with responsibilities for the children. While this school of thought is reasonable, there is a need to draw our attention to the fact that, the African continent is not even halfway towards
 Hunger is the single most acute problem facing Africaâs children. As you read this, around sixty million children across Africa suffer from hunger. Not the mildly uncomfortable sort of hunger that comes from skipping the odd meal, but permanent, relentless malnourishment, stunting and wasting.   No child should go hungry. I find it
7 March, 2019 International Womenâs Day has become a worldwide rallying point to support the progression of women and girlsâ rights across the world. This year International Womenâs Day focuses on âBetter the balance, better the worldâ and offers an opportunity to reflect on the role women play in agriculture and identify what can be
12 February, 2019  The Graça Machel Trust is pleased to announce that it has received a grant from The Rockefeller Foundation to support the development of a Pan African investment vehicle to accelerate womenâs economic empowerment. The grant will support the design process that allows the Trust to seek partnerships with financial institutions to
Graça Machel, Founder, Graça Machel Trust  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. But
Graça Machel, Founder, Graça Machel Trust  âAll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.â 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.  But
Graça Machel, Founder, Graça Machel Trust  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.  In these troubled and turbulent times, where faith in leaders is
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting childrenâs 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 Childrenâs Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescentsâ 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 Trustâs 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 motherâs health and social economic conditions, the early years of a childâs life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.