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UNIFEM supports gender budgets initiatives in Southern Africa
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
August 20, 2003

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in collaboration with the Women's Action Group hosted a three-day regional training workshop on Gender Responsive Budgets in Harare recently. The workshop drew participants from Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. The countries were selected because UNIFEM is already supporting their initiatives on gender responsive budgets. Delegates came from Ministries of Finance, Ministries responsible for women and civil society organisations that advocate for gender budgets. The Executive Director of the Tanzania Gender Networking Program (TNGP), Ms Mary Rusimbi was also present to share the experience of Tanzania on gender budgeting. The workshop was co-facilitated by Ms Isabella Matambanadzo, the Executive Director of the Zimbabwe Women's Resource Centre Network.

The main objective of the workshop was to train participants on gender responsive budgets in order to expand the pool of trainers on gender analysis of budgets in Southern Africa. Gender budgeting has been found to be a key instrument for controlling, prioritising and monitoring national expenditures. Applied gender budget analysis aims at assisting governments to integrate gender issues into all policies, plans and programmes as well as restructuring and targeting the allocation and collection of public funds to promote gender equality.

The workshop provided a platform for participants to share ideas on gender responsive budgets and networking. Gender budgeting can only be successful in countries where there are strong partnerships between government and the civil society. In Tanzania, where gender budgeting has been a success story, women activists work closely with Parliament and Government Ministries.

Participants noted that gender responsive budgets could also be used as essential tools in addressing the issue of HIV and AIDS. Delegates at the workshop succeeded in coming up with concrete action plans on gender responsive budgets to implement in their respective countries. The action plans focused on advocacy and lobbying, policy level interventions, capacity building and training and awareness raising on gender responsive budgets. In this regard, the UNIFEM Regional Programme Director, Ms Nomcebo Manzini indicated that UNIFEM was committed to support gender budget initiatives in the countries represented at the workshop. She indicated that gender responsive budgets are an important tool for achieving women's rights and empowerment and indeed promote sustainable human development. In her official closing remarks she also called on Governments in the Region to ensure that they fulfil their commitments to women by domesticating various International Instruments and Conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to which they are signatories.

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