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Africa's future is Female

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    AFRICASFUTURE

    IS FEMALE

    There arecurrently

    168MILLIONwomen active

    in sub-SaharanArican

    economies.This number is

    expected to growby nearly

    ONE-THIRDover the next

    10 years

    41%

    43%in Cape Verde

    44%o businesses in Ghanaare run by women

    Womenproduce

    80%o

    Aricasood

    in Rwanda

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    FOREWORD

    My paternal grandmother who lived to be 102 was considered by manystandards to be a woman who lived ahead o her time.She and my grandfatheseven children - three girls and four boys. Although she was a school teacher an

    my grandfather a preacher in the Lutheran church they lived a relatively modestlife. But being an educated woman herself, a value that she enforced very rmlyin her family was that all her children girls and boys would be given an equaopportunity to receive a good education. Fortunately my grandparents could af

    this. However, my grandmother was often heard to say that if their ability to do was ever curtailed due to crop failure for example she would spend her lastpound educating her three girls. This was because she held strongly to the beliethat while educating a boy child was to educate the man, to educate a girl on thother hand meant educating a nation. This belief continues and is evident in my

    family even today.

    The stories you will read about in this report of courage, resilience and successome of the most difcult of circumstances represent a very small cross sectioof women doing their bit in Africa. However they do clearly demonstrate that

    investing in women is still the smart thing to do and it yields the highest social r

    on investments. What the stories will make you appreciate is that women in Afriare truly the backbone of their communities and that the future of Africa will bedetermined by how well we are able to tap into this wealth of human capital thahas largely gone underutilised, underappreciated and undervalued.

    We hope these compelling stories will illustrate for you how investing in and tapinto the potential of women is particularly key to unlocking Africas own econompotential. As a number of studies have shown, an educated woman has the bes

    chance of creating wealth because her education translates into further investmin her own family. It translates into better nutrition for her family, better educationher children, better healthcare, and a better quality of life overall. This is less likelto be the case when a mans fortunes improve. In contrast the money tends to more towards improving the mans own social status.

    Beyond the benets to a womans immediate family, the social benets of invesin women nearly always help to create wealth by women sharing knowledge witother women in their communities based on what they have learned. We at ONrecently heard rst hand from a group of African women entrepreneurs who told

    how they consciously endeavour to share with their peers any information on whas worked for them because they know it will be put into practice and will helpother families in the community.

    The inspiring stories of the women in this report will also leave you bafed as to

    why women continue to face immense challenges from lack of access to fundfor their businesses to negative property rights laws. And yet given half a chance

    women will continue to overcome these challenges and to lift their families, theircommunities and their nations out of poverty.

    It is time to invest in African women to create a brighter future for Africa.

    Dr Sipho Moyo

    AFRICASFUTUREIS FEMALE

    ONE is a campaign and advocacy organisationwith more than 2 million members committedto the ght against extreme poverty andpreventable disease, particularly in Arica.

    For more inormation, visit:www.ONE.org

    Dr Sipho Moyo

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    4

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    I the world is serious abouttackling extreme poverty anddisease, then its time to stepup our investments in Aricas

    women and girls.

    Its time to make a change.

    INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION

    Over the past decade, most eorts inthe ght against poverty have ocusedon delivering high-impact solutions suchas immunisations, bed nets to protectagainst malaria and ertilisers to boostarm yields. These investments have

    achieved impressive results and shouldbe expanded. Yet without creating thelong-term conditions or development andsel-suciency committed, transparentleadership and strong economies theseresults cannot be sustained.

    A new development strategy that invests inthe potential o Arican women to improvegovernance and achieve sustainable,equitable economic growth will help Aricaput itsel on a path to meet the MDGs by2015 and to eradicate poverty and achieveprosperity in the years ahead.

    The recommendations in this report outlinethe steps that all development partnersshould take to improve governance, createeconomic opportunity and increase smartinvestments to meet the MGDs by 2015,especially by tapping into the potential owomen and girls to drive their countries

    development.

    1. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a set o targets aimed at reducing global poverty and disease by 2015. Leaders rom 189 nations committed to these goals when they signed the MillenniumDeclaration at the United Nations General Assembly in 2000. Progress towards the MDGs will be reviewed when world leaders gather or the annual UN General Assembly in September 2010.

    AFRICASFUTUREIS FEMALE

    Much more needs to be done to unleashthe potential of Africas 430 million womenand girls. The United Nations MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) Summitthis September is one place where the

    world must throw its support behind them.1 We knowwhats needed to unleash the potential of women and

    girls around the globe better hospitals, more girls inschool, easier ways to start and grow a business andgreater opportunities for women to be leaders.

    Africas future depends on the continent meetingsome seemingly impossible challenges over thenext decade: making sure that mothers stop dyingwhile giving birth, carving out a place for itself in theglobal economy, helping farmers grow enough tofeed their families and communities, educating thenext generation of leaders. Africa wont be successfulunless we invest in the future of its women asfarmers, mothers, doctors, entrepreneurs and allowthem to thrive and drive change, from their homes tothe halls of government.

    The women proled in this report from the Tanzaniansweet potato farmer to the director general ofNigerias Securities and Exchange Commission are the powerhouses behind Africas progress overthe last decade, demonstrating what is possible incommunities across the continent.

    We know that Africas future is female. Lets makesure that future is a bright one by stepping up ourinvestment in women and girls.

    Womenmakeup an

    estimated70% opeople

    living inextremepoverty

    worldwide

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    6

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    GOVERNANCEGOVERNANCE

    For an African family, curbing corruption will meannot having to pay a bribe to lease a plot of land

    or face inated prices for medicine at their localclinic. Open and accessible budgets will meanthat parents can monitor whether funds are

    reaching their childrens school or if revenue from naturalresources such as oil is being invested in roads or wellsfor their village. Peace and stability will mean that womencan work late in the evening without fear of harassment,and free and fair elections will mean that every citizenhas a voice in their government and the opportunity tostand for ofce.

    Committed leaders who are accountable to their citizenswill enable the key building blocks of development a thriving economy, an active civil society and effectiveresources for ghting poverty to be put into place.Improvements in governance will require empoweringAfrican women as leaders and advocates and removingthe legal, administrative and traditional barriers thatimpede their success.

    As policy-makers, women can bring a unique perspectiveto decision-making. Through their role as care-givers intheir families, women have an interest in ensuring thatresources for areas such as health and education arespent wisely. Studies have also found that the greater therepresentation of women in parliament the lower the levelof corruption.2 Further, countries that have successfullyemerged from conict, such as Liberia and Mozambique,

    have also shown that putting women at the helm ofreconciliation and recovery can turn even the mostimpoverished countries into beacons of progress inthe ght against poverty.

    A well-governed future

    A World Bankstudy o

    100 countriesound that the

    greater therepresentation

    o women inparliament thelower the levelo corruption 5

    Proportion o grantsreaching schools in Ugandan communit

    in 1999 comparedwith 2006, ater a

    newspaper campaigadvertised to parent

    how much their schooshould be receiving

    Women makeup 56% o

    the RwandanParliament,the highestpercentageo emale

    legislators oany country in

    the world 6

    Women are outnumbered our to one inlegislatures around the world 7

    Women are already playing acritical role in advocating or morehonest, committed leadership inArica, perhaps because they andtheir amilies stand to benefttremendously rom improvedgovernance.

    2. D. Dollar, R. Fisman and R. Gatti. Are Women Really the Fairer Sex? Corruption and Women in Government. Policy Research Report on Gender and Development Working Paper Series No. 4, The World Bank. http://www.huntalternatives.org/download/169_womencorruption1999.pdf 3.R. Reinikka and J. Svensson. Fighting Corruption to Improve Schooling: Evidence from a Newspaper Campaign in Uganda. http://econ.lse.ac.uk/staff/rburgess/eea/svenssonjeea.pdf4. Interparliamentary Union. Women in National Parliaments. http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm 5. D. Dollar, R. Fisman and R. Gatti, op. cit. 6. UNIFEM. Womens Land and PropertyRights. http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_poverty_economics/land_property_rights.php 7. Inter-Parliamentary Union. Women in National Parliaments. http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm

    JAPAN 14%

    USA 16%

    UK 21%

    RWANDA

    BURUNDI

    ANGOLA

    SOUTHAFRICA

    UGANDA

    TANZANIA

    MOZ

    AMBI

    QUE

    In 7 Aricancountries

    womenhold 30%or more o

    the seats inparliament...

    ...thiscompares

    with 14% inJapan, 16%

    in the UnitedStates and 21%

    in the United

    Kingdom4

    24%1999

    80%2006

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    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    GOVERNANCE8 GOVERNANCE

    More must be done by alldevelopment partners to ensurethat donors and African countriesinstitute policies that eliminatecorruption and maximis the impact

    of development investments. In 2010and beyond, development partnersshould collaborate towards thefollowing goals:

    Reward good governance: Inbetter-governed countries thathave demonstrated a commitmentto development, transparencyand ghting corruption, donorsshould provide the exible supportneeded to build lasting infrastructureand systems, as well as focusedinvestment promotion policiesand trade incentives. In countrieswith governance challenges(especially fragile and post-conictstates), donors should invest insocial sector interventions andprovide development assistancethat supports efforts to increasetransparency and accountability andstrengthen civil society.

    Support global governanceinitiatives: All countries have a roleto play in eliminating global corruptionand improving transparency.Governments can help ensure thatprivate sector investments in Africaare carried out in an open, honestmanner by supporting transparencyand anti-corruption initiatives such asthe Extractive Industries TransparencyInitiative (EITI), the Natural ResourceCharter and the UN Convention

    Against Corruption. Governmentsshould also close their banks toresources that may have been illicitlygained by corrupt politicians, whilealso helping to ensure that any

    existing stolen assets are returnedto the countries that need them bysupporting the Stolen Asset Recov(StAR) Initiative.

    Budget or development: Africangovernments should make andhonour commitments to nance thown poverty reduction, and alsoensure that their budgets are publiaccessible so that citizens canmonitor resources directed towarddevelopment priorities.

    Support citizens groups inArica: African citizens need to beempowered to advocate for theirown development priorities. Africangovernments should ensure thatcivil society groups are guaranteedthe space to engage, together withprotection and access to informatiothat they need in order to be effectDonors can play an important role strengthening their voice by providnancial and technical assistance.Because of the central role thatwomen play in their communities amothers, teachers, nurses and cargivers, they can be effective leaderin pushing for more responsiblespending and for policies to improvhealth and education.

    Ensure a legal ramework or

    equality: Governments should ensthat every citizen is granted equalrights, protection and opportunitieunder the law. Policies to guarantethat women are able to participatein government, access credit andown and inherit property need tobe enforced by leaders at all levelsto ensure that women can play anactive role in their communities andeconomies.

    Fighting orreorm in Nigeria

    A well-governed future

    For Arunma, when an investorputs money in the market whether a group of womanstarting a new business in

    Nigeria or a big company overseas they must trust that their moneywill be handled fairlyno foul play.So it was time to send the signal toeveryone that improper behaviour

    would not be accepted.

    In my country, the entrepreneurialspirit is just outstanding, saysArunma. Youve got really hard-working people who want to makea real difference, and the marketsprovide a way for people to raisecapital and to invest. Thats why weat the SEC must have zero tolerance

    for anything thats improper, becausethe capital markets are built on trust.

    Over the past six months, Arunmahas been working hard to combatcorruption head on so that everyonehears one clear message: Nigeriais a great place to invest. Localand international investors need to

    understand that things have changed.

    At the start of the year, shepromised tougher regulation ofNigerias capital markets. Sheslaunched investigations to restorecondence and to address issuesof accountability and nancialmismanagement. Shes letdirectors go over concerns about

    fair leadership. Shes working toupdate the SECs code of corporategovernance, adding in rules that stateno more than two members of thesame family may sit on a companysboard to ensure independence.She understands that when theworld trusts Nigeria as a world-class market, it will want to invest.

    And when it invests, that meansmore jobs, a stronger tax base andthus better schools, better roads,more access to clean water for hercommunity and her country.

    Arunma is taking giant stridestowards reforming corporategovernance practices in Nigeria.

    Arunma Oteh knows change isnt always easy.But when she took over as director generalo Nigerias Securities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) in early 2010, she knewthat big change was needed. Nigeria wasstill struggling to recover rom the globalfnancial crisis. And the country hometo Aricas second-biggest stock market was fghting against a reputationor corruption.

    Recommendations or world leaders

    Improving governance

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    10

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    ECONOMIC GROWTHECONOMIC GROWTH

    A

    lthough womens work is a major engi neo economic growth in Arica, they acesignifcant barriers when it comes togaining an education, owning property and

    accessing credit and fnancial services.

    Economic opportunities, especially or women, areessential or Arican amilies to build a pathway outo poverty and or countries to generate the revenuethey need to become sel-sufcient. When womenhave access to higher education, are able to own landand property and manage their own fnancial assets,economies thrive. And the benefts o economic growthare also more likely to reach entire amilies whenwomen are engaged women invest 90% o theirearnings into the health, education and well-being otheir amilies, compared with 3040% or men.9

    Economic growth or countries is driven by tradeand investment, but the worlds poorest peopleare ocused less on economic policy and more onthe opportunities that will provide them and theiramilies with a pathway out o poverty. To seizethese opportunities, Arican women need accessto secondary school and skills training or uturejobs. Arican armers and small business owners,the majority o whom are women, also need accessto capital and fnancial services to expand theirbusinesses and invest in new ventures. To sell theirgoods across dierent markets, business owners alsoneed air trade laws, simple customs procedures,

    good roads, reliable electricity and access totechnology such as cell phones and the internet.

    A prosperous future

    There are currently

    168 million womenactive in sub-Saharan Arican economies.This number is expected to grow by nearly

    one-third over the next ten years 11

    Limited education andemployment opportunities or

    women in Arica reduce annualper capita growth by 0.8%. Hadthis growth taken place, Aricas

    economies would have doubled insize over the past 30 years 13

    Eight out o ten women in the sub-Saharan Aricanworkorce do not receive a ormal wage or salary 15

    When women andgirls earn income,

    they reinvest 90% oit into their amilies,compared with only3040% or men 16

    A childs probability o survival isincreased by 20% when householdincome is controlled by the mother

    rather than the ather 17

    8. International Finance Corporation. IFC Supports Women Entrepreneurs. http://www.ic.org/icext/arica.ns/Content/MainStory_GOWE_August2007; and ICRW. R. Mehra and M. Hill Rojas. Women, Food Security,and Agriculture in a Global Marke tplace. http://www.icrw.org/fles/publications/A-Signifcant-Shit-Women-Food%20Security-and-Agriculture-in-a-Global-Marketplace.pd9.C. Fortson. op. cit. 10.UNDP. Genderand Poverty. http://www.undp.org/poverty/ocus_gender_and_poverty.shtml11.FAO. FAOSTAT Database. http://aostat .ao.org/site/550/DesktopDeault.aspx?PageID=550#ancor12.World Bank. Doing Business:Women in Arica. http://www.doingbusiness.org/documents/Women_in_Arica.pd13.Arica Partnership Forum. Gender and Economic Empowerment in Arica. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/53/38666728.pd

    Only 25% o internet uin Arica are women

    44%o businesses in Ghana

    are run by women

    43%

    41%in Cape Verde

    in Rwanda 12

    30-40%MEN

    90%WOMEN/GIRLS

    14. International Center or Research on Women. Bridging the Gender Divide: How Technology Can Advance Women Economically. 2010 . http://www.icrw.org/fles/publications/Bridging-the-Gender-How-Technology-can-Advance-Women-Economically.pd15. ILO. Global Employment Trends or Women. March 2008. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/publwcms_091225.pd16.C. Fortson, op. cit. 17. Thomas, Duncan. Intra-Household Resource Allocation: An Inerential Approach. The Journal o Human Resources. 1990: 4.

    75%o women worldwide cannot getbank loans because they have

    unpaid or insecure jobs and do notown property 10

    Women are a driving orce behindAricas economy, running anestimated 48% o small andmedium-sized businesses andgrowing 80% o the ood.8

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    SECTION TITLE12

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALEAFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    12 ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC GROWTH

    When they started theirbasket business undera tree in the remotevillage of Gitarama, they

    had just 27 weavers. They boughtmaterials with the winnings from aWorld Bank business plan contestand opened a small showroom inKigali after selling a piece of property,something Rwandan women couldntdo until 1999. Then their peacebaskets, woven by both Hutu andTutsi women, hit the pages of MarieClaire magazine. Over 1,000 orderswere placed. Oprah magazine soonfollowed. And after the businessreceived support from USAID toparticipate in a New York tradeshow, the baskets went global. The

    sisters signed a contract with the USdepartment store Macys, partneredup with a US marketing and tradecompany and, before they knew it,their peace baskets were sitting inAmerican family homes all acrossthe country.

    I have survivors, I have widows, Ihave women whose husbands arein prison, says Janet. To see themsitting under one roof weaving anddoing business together is a hugeachievement these women arenow together, earning an income.It is amazing.

    Janet and Joys company GahayaLinks now employs over 4,000women, and in 2007 the businessproduced 35,000 baskets withannual sales of $300,000. In fact,Gahaya Links is now the leadingexporter of Rwandas one-of-a-kindbaskets under the African Growthand Opportunity Act (which allowsRwandan exports duty-free entry

    into the US market).

    But the business hasnt just changedJoys and Janets lives its alsomeant a brighter future for thousandsof underprivileged mothers,daughters and sisters all acrossRwanda. Women employed byGahaya Links have learned new skills

    as part of the companys rigoroustraining programme. Proceedsfrom the baskets have helped over18,000 children go to school. Thegroup has started a communal bank.And women say theyre now beingtreated with more respect in theircommunities.

    This doesnt mean that the sistersdays are challenge-free. Shippingcosts are still high and it can takemonths to get the organic dye andshipping materials from countriesright next door. But theyve alreadyexpanded into new products jewellery and textiles and theyrehoping to open in new markets:Europe and Canada. Janet and

    Joy are working to employ theircommunity and country for thelong term.

    Story adapted from the

    International Finance Corporation

    and the World Bank Doing Business

    Women in Africa 2008 report.

    Doing business in RwandaA prosperous future

    Sisters Janet Nkubana and Joy Ndunguste neverdreamed theyd be doing business with Macys.

    Economic growth can help to fueldevelopment and poverty reduction.Ensuring that this growth helps thepoorest people lift themselves out ofpoverty will require investments andpolicy changes from all developmentpartners. In 2010 and beyond,development partners shouldcollaborate towards the following goals:

    Expand access to nancial servicesand technology: Access to reliable andaffordable nancial services is critical forfamilies and businesses to invest in newopportunities and to protect themselvesagainst unexpected shocks. Womenespecially should be targeted with theseservices and the technology to takeadvantage of them, such as mobilephones. Support for micro-businessescan spark economic productivity,but even more critical is support forsmall and medium-sized enterprises,which make up the majority of Africanbusinesses and are often headed bywomen.

    Strengthen infrastructure: Tradewithin African countries as well as withother African and international tradingpartners requires a means to transferinformation and goods. A strengthenedtransportation, communication andenergy infrastructure would enhancethe feasibility and protability ofregional and international trade.Developed countries can help supporteconomic growth through investmentsin institutions such as the AfricanDevelopment Bank, which supports thegrowth of regional economic corridorsthrough improvements in infrastructure.

    Encourage investment: Privateinvestment opportunities are growingacross Africa in emerging sectorssuch as renewable energy sourcesand telecommunications. Developedand developing countries should useinternational opportunities, such as theUN High-Level Review of the MDGsand the G20 Summits, as a platformto increase awareness of investment

    opportunities in Africa and to incentivinvestment in the continent. To boostlivelihoods in rural areas (wherenearly 75% of Africans live and work)development partners should inparticular encourage public and privainvestments in agricultural productivityand agribusiness.

    Prioritise agreement o global tradpolicies that support development:Developing countries face barriersin accessing global markets (oftenbecause of duties or quotas),overcoming the impact of agriculturalsubsidies and addressing supply-sideconstraints. Global partners have beedeliberating a Doha DevelopmentRound of trade talks through the WTOfor nearly ten years, but have yet tocome to agreement on any of thesepriority policy areas that could trulybenet the poorest people.

    Recommendations or world leaders

    Creating economic opportunities

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    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS HEALTHINVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS HEALTH

    African women are hit the hardest by diseasessuch as HIV/AIDS and malaria and suffer themost from the lack of trained staff, basic healthsupplies and access to clinics and hospitals.But, as mothers, they are powerful forces in

    improving the health of their children.Equipping one woman with the proper knowledge andtools for example, to prevent HIV/AIDS, determine thesize of her family and the spacing of her children, givebirth safely in a health facility and protect her childrenfrom getting preventable diseases such as diarrhoeaand malaria will also help ensure that families growto be healthy and strong. And because women ll theranks of nurses, health workers and care-givers forneighbours and family members with HIV/AIDS, theyoften act as liaison points for improved health acrosstheir communities.

    A he

    More than 1,000 babies are born wHIV every year, but with medicine a

    services the risk that HIV-positivmothers will pass on the virus totheir babies can be reduced to

    less than 2%.21 Botswana, Namiband Swaziland are close to virtuaelimination o mother-to-child HI

    transmission 22

    In South Arica, youngwomen are three times

    more likely to be inectedwith HIV than young men 26

    Access to skilled birthattendants is 50% or

    Arican women 25

    One-quarter to one-hao girls in developing

    countries become mothebeore they turn 18 24

    Women are especially central tothe three Millennium DevelopmentGoals that are ocused onimproving global health, withtargets aimed at reducing child andmaternal deaths and curbing thespread o HIV/AIDS, malaria andother inectious diseases.

    Children who lose theirmothers are ve times morelikely to die in inancy than

    those who do not 19

    In sub-SaharanArica, a womanschance o dying inchildbirth is 1 in 22(compared with 1 in4,800 in the United

    States) 18

    1/4,800

    1

    22

    Each year, 1015 millionwomen suer severe orlong-lasting illnesses or

    disabilities caused bycomplications during

    pregnancy and childbirth 23

    Complications duringpregnancy and childbirthare the leading cause o

    death or girls aged 1519in developing countries 27

    18.UNICEF. The State of the Worlds Children Statistical Tables. 2009. http://www.unicef.org/publications/les/SOWC_Spec_Ed_CRC_Statistical_Tables_EN_111809.pdf19.S.Brown.UNICEF.WorkingTogetherforMaternaland NewbornHealth.http://www.unicef.org/sowc09/docs/SOWC09-Panel-5.1-EN.pdf20.Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. Keeping the Promise: An Agenda for Action onWomen and AIDS. http://data.unaids.org/pub/Booklet/2006/20060530_FS_Keeping_Promise_en.pdf

    21.UNICEF. Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission. http://www.unicef.org/supply/index_42855.html 22.UNAIDS. UNAIDS Satellite Explores Paving the Way Towards Virtual Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transof HIV. http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2010/20100720_sattelite_pmtct.asp 23.UNFPA. UNFPA Scales Up Efforts to Save Millions of Women. http://www.unfpa.org/global/pid/979 24.UNFPA. Adolescents Fact Sheet. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2005/presskit/factsheets/facts_adolescents.htm 25.UNICEF. ChildInfo. Maternal Health. http://www.childinfo.org/delivery_care.html 2Bank. World Development Indicators and Global Development Finance. http://databank.worldbank.org 27.G.C. Patton et al. Global Patterns of Mortality in Young People. Lancet vol. 374.

    o HIV-inectedyouth in

    Arica aregirls 20

    75%

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    SECTION TITLE16

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS HEALTH

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    16 INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS HEALTH

    Walking to a healthieruture in Ethiopia

    A healthy future

    Walking miles to fght disease is all in adays work or Lomita. Lomita has beena health extension worker in Ethiopia orthree years our i you include the oneyears intensive training.

    Access to life-saving interventionssuch as antiretroviral therapy forHIV/AIDS, bed nets to protectagainst Malaria, and vaccines hasexpanded dramatically over the pastdecade. However, health systemsin sub-Saharan Africa remainextremely weak and the region lagsfar behind in prevention, treatmentand care efforts, particularly withrespect to tuberculosis, maternal,newborn and child health. In 2010and beyond, development partnersshould collaborate towards thefollowing goals:

    Continue to ght inectiousdiseases: Improving health for African

    women and their families requiressustaining the progress madeagainst diseases such as HIV/AIDS,tuberculosis, Malaria and polio,which often hit women and childrenthe hardest. Between 2011 and2013, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,Tuberculosis and Malaria will need$1720 billion to maintain successfulprogrammes and meet demand fornew ones.

    Increase eorts or maternal,newborn and child health:Development partners need toincrease access to interventionsthat will keep mothers and childrenhealthy from pregnancy to ve

    years of age, along with supportfor strengthening overall systemsand infrastructure to improve healthmore broadly. One critical multilateramechanism for improving childhealth is the Global Alliance forVaccines and Immunisations (GAVI).GAVI will need an additional $4.3billion between 2010 and 2015.Development partners should alsoclarify and follow through on theircommitments to the 2010 MuskokaInitiative to improve maternal,newborn and child health.

    Shes one of over 30,000educated Ethiopian womenwho travel from rural home torural home to teach families

    how to prevent disease.

    I love my work because I am part of

    this community. I share their sadnessor their suffering. Becoming a healthextension worker and helping mypeople is a true gift, she says.

    In fact, the government has nowtrained two workers in every villageto help deliver bed nets to protectfamilies from deadly malaria-carryingmosquitoes, vaccines to keep kids

    healthy and medicine to treat thesick. As part of her job, Lomitaalso keeps track of the number ofpregnancies, births and types ofdisease that she sees. She thenshares this with the government,giving ofcials better statistics

    to decide where to channel theirfunding.

    Because of her hard work, Lomitahas seen much less illness in hervillage. As she says, Because weeducate the community, they makebetter choices. Shes proud to seethat theyre making better choices and her country, too. The health

    extension worker programme supported by the Global Fund toFight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malariaand the Global Alliance for Vaccinesand Immunisations (GAVI) hashelped cut malaria cases in half andhas given more Ethiopians access to

    vaccines than ever before.

    Lomitas helping to keep her family,her community and her countryhealthy for the long term.

    Story adapted from the Living

    Proof Project and the Bill and

    Melinda Gates Foundation

    Recommendations or world leaders

    Improving health

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    18

    secure future

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS FOOD SECURITYINVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS FOOD SECURITY

    Although it is women who are preparing theelds, weeding, harvesting the crops and sellingthem in local markets, in many families andcommunities men own the land, receive thetraining and have better access to tools, seeds,

    fertiliser and credit. As a result, women cannot accessprots, cannot reinvest them or access capital to expandtheir investments and, as a result, cannot work their wayout of poverty, despite their efforts.

    Reaching women with equal access to these assets isproven to boost production and yields, by up to 22%according to some studies.30 Empowering women withcontrol over their land also helps to ensure that theirfamilies will reap the benets. Studies show that whenwomen own land and manage their earnings, theiragricultural productivity also increases and their childreneat more healthily.31

    A food-

    Women make up the majority oarmers in Arica, producing anestimated 80% o the continentsood.28 With nearly 75% o thecontinents population living andworking in rural areas, povertyreduction is closely related to oodsecurity and arm productivity.29

    ...andown just1% o the

    land 32

    When women have equalaccess to inputs suchas training, tools and

    ertiliser, total yields canincrease by up to 20% 33

    In Kenyawomenproduce

    80%o the

    ood34... ...represent 70% o all agricultural workers...

    ...and managemore than

    one-third osmallholder

    arms, but theyreceive less than10% o the credit

    provided orsmallholders35and own less

    than 10% o theland 36

    28. ICRW. R. Mehra and M. Hill Rojas, op. cit. 29.World Bank. Regions. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTARD/0,,contentMDK:20445375~menuPK:1308541~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:336682,00.html30.Quisumbing, A. Male-Female Dierences in Agricultural Productivity: MethodologicalIssues and Empirical Evidence. World Development 24. 1996: 1579-95.31. International Center or Research onWomen. Assets and Property Rights. http://www.icrw.org/what-we-do/property-rights

    Arican women receiveless than 10% o small

    arm credits... 20%

    32. ICRW and Women Thrive. K. Selvaggio et al. Value Add: Women and U.S. Foreign Assistance or the 21st Century. http://www.policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/9660.pd33. IFAD. AssessmenRural Poverty: Western and Central Arica. http://www.iad.org/poverty/region/pa/english.pd34.USAID. Women in Development: Country Snapshot: Kenya an d Agriculture & Micro-enterprise. http://www.our_work/cross-cutting_programs/wid/snapshot/arica/kenya/kenya_ag_me.html35.World Bank. Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook. p.16. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGENAGRLIVSOUBOOK/ReCompleteBook.pd36.World Bank. Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook. p.15. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTGENAGRLIVSOUBOOK/Resources/CompleteBook.pd

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    SECTION TITLE20

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS FOOD SECURITY

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    20 INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS FOOD SECURITY

    Despite increased global attentionon food security, smallholderfarmers across the globe still facesignicant barriers in increasing theirproductivity, accessing markets, andproviding enough nutritious food to

    keep their families and communitiesnourished. In 2010 and beyond,development partners shouldcollaborate towards thefollowing goals:

    Meet commitments to ood security:Donors should follow through ontheir commitments to the LAquilaFood Security Initiative, Feed theFuture and the Comprehensive AfricaAgriculture Development Programme(CAADP) by ensuring that solutionscome from the ground up, efforts arecoordinated and streamlined and thepriorities of developing countries arefully nanced.

    Make a plan to boost long-term agricultural development:Development partners shouldalso put forward a comprehensivestrategy that goes beyond existingfood security commitments toachieve long-term, sustainableeconomic growth through agriculturadevelopment, with a special focus

    on women. In Africa, donors mustcommit to fully supporting the CAADprocess. The LAquila Food SecurityInitiative marks a historic attempt torecast the central role of agricultureto reduce poverty and build long-termsustainable growth, but efforts mustbe redoubled to ensure that nancingis adequate to achieve MDG1 tohalve hunger and poverty.

    Harvesting a brighteruture in Tanzania

    A healthy future

    Recommendations or world leade

    Achieving oodsecurity

    But then she met MwanaidiRhamadani, a trainedfemale farmer in her homeof Mwasonge, Tanzania.

    Mwanaidi told her about a new kindof crop that was bred just for theirregion the orange sweet potato,rich in vitamins and nutrients andMaria jumped at the chance to learnmore. She discovered the bestseeds to grow on her small patchof land, the smartest ways to usewater and how to split one vine intotwo. She even learned how to getthe best price for her potatoes atmarket.

    Today, thanks to this training, fundedby USAID, Maria sells a lot more

    than just potatoes. Now, I sellseeds, chips, biscuits, doughnuts,our, even pancakes, all madefrom sweet potatoes. In fact,programmes like this have helpedfarmers like Maria increase theirincome by up to 400% and shesusing this new income to send herchildren to school and build a new,sturdy home. Maria and her childrenwont have to sleep on a rag on theoor any more.

    I work happily knowing that I willbe getting out of poverty by doingwhat Im doing. And when I sleep,all I think about is the potatoes,she says.

    Marias now teaching other farmersexactly what shes learned. Andshes even helping her community toget healthy. The towns health centrehas said that, because kids areeating more nutritious food, theresmuch less malnutrition amongstMwasonges children under ve.

    Marias helping to feed her family,her community and her entire nationfor the long term.

    Story adapted from the Living

    Proof Project and the Bill and

    Melinda Gates Foundation

    Maria Mchele Mwasonge used to sleep ona rag on the foor with her ve children.

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    22

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS EDUCATIONINVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS EDUCATION

    33-85%

    G

    irls represent 54% of the 32 million children outof school in sub-Saharan Africa.37 For many poorfamilies, immediate chores at home or the needfor additional income outweigh the long-term

    benets of sending their daughters to school.As a result, girls are more likely than boys never to setfoot in a school. Twelve million girls in sub-Saharan Africawill never enrol in school, compared with 7 million boys.38Many girls who do enter school either drop out, oftenduring adolescence, or do not go on to higher levels oncethey graduate.

    Compared with an uneducated girl, a girl with aneducation is more likely to wait longer to get married, havefewer children and invest in the health and education ofher children. She is also better equipped to nd a job, andoften more empowered in her family and more active inher community and government.

    An educated future

    Girls spend3385% moretime per dayworking at

    home and inunpaid marketwork than doboys o thesame age 43

    43% o girlso appropriate

    age are insecondary

    school in thedeveloping

    world 44

    Schoolgirlpregnancies

    explain 510% oschool dropoutsin rancophone

    Arica45

    With its linkages to improved health,economic growth and community-building, educating one girl has apowerul multiplier eect acrossamilies, communities and countries.

    Two-thirds othe worlds

    illiterate adultsare women 41

    For every year oschooling a motherhas received, inantmortality declines

    by 5-10% 42

    2/3

    37.UNESCO. 2010. Education or All Global Monitoring Report 20 10. Table 5. p. 346.38. Ibid., p. 60. 39.United Nations Population

    Fund. State o World Population. 1990.40.Center or Global Development. R. Levine et al. Girls Count: A Global Investment andAction Agenda. http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1515441.UNICEF. Millennium Development Goals. Promote GenderEquality and Empower Women. http://www.unice.org/mdg/gender.html42. P. Shultz. Mortality Decline in the Low-Income World:Causes and Consequences. The American Economic Review 83 (2): 337-42.43.M.A. Hill and E.M King. Womens Education inDeveloping Countries: Barriers, Benefts and Policies. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1995.

    44.UNICEF. From Invisible to Indivisible: Promoting and Protecting the Right o the Girl Child to be Free rom Violence. New York. http://www.ceipaz.org/images/contenido/invisible%20to%20indivisible_promoting%20and%20protecting%20the%20right%20o%20the%20girl%20child.pd45.C. Lloyd and B. MenschMarriage and Childbirth as Factors in Dropping out rom School: An analysis o DHS data rom sub-Saharan Arica. Population Studies 62 (1): 1-13. 2008.

    When a girl inthe developingworld receives

    seven or

    more years oeducation, shemarries our

    years later, andhas 2.2 ewer

    children 39

    Providing girls with oneextra year o education

    beyond the average booststheir eventual wages by1020%; or boys, thereturns are 515% 40

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    SECTION TITLE24

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS EDUCATION

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS EDUCATION24

    An educatedamily in Uganda

    An educated future

    But even with all her new responsibilities, sherefused to stop going to school. She knew howimportant an education was to the future of herfamily. I did all sorts of small jobs, she says

    including selling chickens after class every day.

    But when it came time to start secondary school, tuitionfees became too expensive. She could no longer go to theclassroom and still feed her family. Grace thought shednally have to drop out.

    Then she discovered the Forum for African WomenEducationalists (FAWE), a non-prot organisation thatworks to help make sure that girls all across Africa can goto school. FAWE agreed to help pay her tuition fees for aslong as she needed.

    Today, thanks to FAWEs help, Grace holds a degree ininformation science and owns her own company. Shespaying the way for all of her brothers and sisters to go toschool. And she hopes her story inspires other young girlsjust like her.

    I am so proud of who I am today. I want to be an examplefor girls in my country and beyond.

    Story adapted from FAWE

    When Grace Nangyonga was just eightyears old, both her parents passedaway. As the oldest o seven children,

    it suddenly became her job to takecare o the amily.

    Although African countries have signicantlyincreased the number of children enrolledin primary school over the past decade,progress improving primary school quality andcompletion, as well as access to secondaryschool and higher levels, has been much sloweIn 2010 and beyond, development partnersshould collaborate towards the following goals:

    Prioritise quality, completion and secondaryschool: Improving the quality of education willrequire increased efforts to recruit and retaintrained teachers; scale up access to inputs sucas textbooks and classrooms; and monitor andevaluate learning outcomes through classroombased assessments, as well as national andregional testing. To incentivise primary schoolcompletion and increase enrolment in secondaschool, developing countries and donors shoutake a fresh look at the barriers to secondaryschool, including fees, opportunity costs,distance to school and socio-cultural barriers,especially for girls, and ensure that these areaddressed in national education plans as thedemand for secondary education grows.

    Increased, eective resources:Progress onimproving primary school enrolment, quality ancompletion relies on increased resources andreform and replenishment of the Education forAll-Fast Track Initiative.

    Recommendations or world leaders

    Educating Aricas

    next generation

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    26

    AFRICAS FUTURE IS FEMALE

    INVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS PARTNERSHIPSINVESTING TO MEET THE GOALS PARTNERSHIPS

    A partnership orAricas uture

    Good governance and economicgrowth will help Arica put itsel on amedium to long-term pathway out opoverty, but improving livelihoods inthe immediate term will also requireincreased, results-oriented resourcesor development rom both Aricancountries and donors.

    Investments in health, education and food securityhave yielded impressive results in the past decade,which should be sustained and accelerated to meetthe MDG targets by 2015. In 2010 and beyond,development partners collaborate towards thefollowing goals:

    Raise domestic resources or development:Developing countries should commit and be heldaccountable to using domestic resources towardspoverty reduction. This includes meeting thetargets set in Abuja and Maputo, where Africancountries committed to allocating 15% and 10%of their national budgets on health and agriculturerespectively.

    Increase development assistance or proven, eectiveprogrammes: Donors with development assistancecommitments beyond 2010 (such as the EU statestarget commitment to reach 0.7% ODA/GNI by2015 or earlier) should reiterate their commitmentsand clarify how much is dedicated for sub-SaharanAfrica. Countries that do not have targets beyond2010 should set ones that are ambitious and includea target for sub-Saharan Africa. These investmentsshould be directed towards proven, sustainable andeffective mechanisms, many of which are facingnancing challenges in 2010 such as the Global Fund

    to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the GAVI.

    Make accountable commitments: In line with ONEsTRACK Principles for enhanced accountability, alldonor commitments should be Transparent, Results-oriented, clear about the degree ofAdditionalityand Conditionality and audited by an independentmechanism to ensure that promises are being Kept.

    Improve the quality o development assistance:To ensure that their development assistancedelivers maximum results, donors should commit toaccelerating efforts to make their aid more effective.Development partners should commit to acceleratingefforts to follow through on the Paris Declaration onAid Effectiveness and the Accra Agenda for Action bydeveloping action plans and setting clear targets andtimetables to improve transparency and predictabilityuse national systems and untie their aid.

    Ensure that gender is mainstreamed and prioritisedin development policy: Increased resources shouldsupport programmes that invest in the potential ofwomen and girls and address the impact of genderroles and dynamics on development. Developmentpartners should work to ensure that gender is takeninto consideration at all stages of policy-making andimplementation, and throughout multilateral andbilateral development programmes. With adequateresources and political support from developmentpartners, the new UN Entity for Gender Equality andthe Empowerment of Women known as UN Women could also help to elevate the role of women inglobal development and mainstream gender into theformulation of global policies and decision-making.

    Recommendations or world leaders

    Resources ordevelopment

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    ONE is a campaign and advocacy organisationwith more than 2 million members committedto the ght against extreme poverty andpreventable disease, particularly in Arica.

    For more inormation, visit:www.ONE.org

    A childs probability osurvival is increased by20% when household

    income is controlled bythe mother rather than

    the ather

    In 7 Aricancountrieswomen hold30% or more

    o the seats inparliament


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