 On March 19, 2024, the Graça Machel Trust's Adolescent Girls Movement Programme hosted its 3rd annual Pan African Adolescent Girls Jubilee. The hybrid event provided a significant dialogue and connected over 250  high-spirited adolescent girls and young women aged 10 to 20 in five African countries to address some of the most pressing issues
 The Graça Machel Trust (GMT) convened the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Convening to discuss the importance of digital finance in promoting women's financial inclusion.  The event, held virtually on September 14, 2023, under the theme Digital Finance: A Panacea for Women's Financial Inclusion, brought together thought leaders, experts, policymakers, and practitioners
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Conference on Women and Youth in Trade, convened under the patronage of Tanzania President H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan and in conjunction with the Government of Tanzania, Champion of Women and Youth in Trade under the AfCFTA Conference themed "Women and Youth: The Engine of AfCFTA Trade in Africa"
According to a UN Women Report on the impact of COVID-19, it not only had a profound shock on our societies and economies, but the pandemic also underscored societyâs reliance on women, exposed structural inequalities across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection. Additionally, it showed that when resources are strained
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.