Neglecting to provide for treatment for post-traumatic stress disorders can lead to new cycles of violence, says Joanne Sandler, Deputy Director of UNIFEM.

In post conflict settings, where new constitutions are agreed upon, national development plans and budgets drawn up, new laws adopted and institutions rebuilt, there is often a unique window of opportunity to advance women’s rights and gender-equality.

At the same time, because conflict generally brings about changes in existing gender relations…

Debate on the managing for development results and mutual accountability took a new twist at the Aid Effectiveness talks in Accra, Ghana.

Officials from various African governments accused donors of making it difficult to produce results using donor money.

The delegates also lamented that donor countries and African governments were not being accountable on how aid is utilised.

Several speakers at the 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness said between 60 per cent and…

During a roundtable forum dubbed Country Ownership — Whose Ownership? Whose Leadership? participants asked donors and development partners to refocus efforts on improving genuine mutual accountability.

Preliminary studies indicate that effective country ownership of development cooperation is almost certainly stronger and has been reinforced by the Paris Declaration.

According to Dr Bernard Wood, who evaluated some of the Paris Declaration projects, ownership remains heavily weighed in favour of central players rather than sector or local authorities.

Three years since the Paris Declaration was signed by 56 countries progress appears dim and far between.

In a study commissioned on 12 of the 24 African countries that signed the 2005 Declaration, only four have started implementing government-donor coordination systems of aligning donor support with national development strategies.

A study launched at the on going 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana revealed that Ethiopia, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon…

A parallel event organised by the Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS 21) highlighted the importance of good statistics for measuring the key pillars of the Paris Declaration.

In order to measure progress on achievement of the Paris Declaration, the 3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness called on developing countries to partner with donor communities to ensure good statistics are produced to facilitate development results.

“Donors need to align themselves through this framework in the division of labour and hook themselves to these practices.”

Excessive fragmentation of aid reduces its effectiveness and over burdens recipients in many countries and sectors.

It also brings about the risk of undermining country ownership and leadership.

Partner countries now want division of labour to be a solution to this issue. However, they are asking for traffic rules to regulate the process.

Equality are calling on donors and governments to include gender as one of the principles in the new aid modalities.

The Paris Declaration of 2005 operates on five principles — Harmonisation, Alignment, Ownership, Management for Results and Mutual Accountability.

However of these principles that define how aid is disbursed and utilised, gender factor has not been captured as a key issue.

The majority in Africa — who are the poor women — bear the brunt of the effects of climate change yet they least contribute to it.

As the world grapples with the effects of climate change, the topic could not be ignored at the ongoing 3rd High Level forum on Aid Effectiveness.

The realisation is that majority in Africa — who are the poor women — bear the brunt of the effects of climate change…

Peace baskets bring hope to Rwandan women

KIGALI – In the courtyard of a red brick home in the district of Gitarama outside Kigali, three women sit together on a bench, laughing and gossiping as they wrap lengths of crimson twine around a curl of bunched straw. While it may seem like little more then Rwandan tradition, these weavers represent an economic success the tiny landlocked country has earned by the hands of its women.

The Global MDG3 Champion Torch is a Danish initiative launched in 2007 to strengthen the commitment of governments and donor organisations to promote gender equality and women empowerment – third in the list of Millennium Development Goals.

As the sole male speaker at a debate on women’s rights and development, Ghana’s Minister of Finance has been left to carry the gender torch… in more ways than one. Kwado Baah-Wiredu was handed over a ‘MDG3 Torch’