100 likes | 221 Views
Engendering Poverty Reduction Strategies in Rwanda. Shirley Randell and Caroline Pinder. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs by 2015). Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality & empower women Reduce child mortality
E N D
Engendering Poverty Reduction Strategies in Rwanda Shirley Randell and Caroline Pinder
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs by 2015) • Eradicate extreme poverty & hunger • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality & empower women • Reduce child mortality • Improve maternal health • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria & other diseases • Ensure environmental stability • Develop a global partnership for development
MDG 3: Promote gender equality & empower women • In the labour market • In political institutions Gender equality has to be seen as part of the development & poverty reduction agenda. MDG 3 shows least progress.
Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRS) • Provide the basis for assistance from the World Bank, IMF, and donors • Also basis for awarding debt relief Should be: Country-driven, comprehensive in scope, partnership orientated, and participatory
MDG’s (goals) PRS’s (strategies) Donors’ National Funding Govts’ Dev’t Mechanisms Plans Paris Declaration (processes)
The Paris Declaration (2005) Summarises principles & indicators of progress agreed by donor countries & developing country partners: • Ownership • Alignment • Harmonisation • Results • Mutual accountability The PD is about process, not content
Paris Declaration & Gender Equality UNIFEM: the “aid architecture” should support • Adequate financing for programmes that respond to women’s needs • Accountability systems to track contributions to gender equality • Gender sensitive progress assessments, performance monitoring & indicators
Critical factors for inclusion of gender equality goals: • Strengthen national capacity • Sex-disaggregated data and targeted dissemination of information • Gender-sensitive performance indicators • Support civil society’s accountability function
Some further reading United Nations: MDG Progress Report 2007: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/mdg2007.pdf UNIFEM: Promoting Gender Equality in New Aid Modalities and Partnerships: http://www.unifem.org/resources/item_detail.php?ProductID=80 World Bank Poverty Reduction Strategies Source Book: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTPRS/0,,contentMDK:20175742~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:384201,00.html
Suggested discussion topics: 1 Should the focus be on gender equality or women’s empowerment? Advantages/disadvantages of each approach? 2 What can National FUWs, as gender advocates, do to promote real commitment to gender equality in their government’s PRS papers? And IFUW at international level? (ref Canadian FUW proposal)