01 07 2021
Press release
Dakar, 1 July 2021 - Today, the Dakar-based advocacy organization Speak Up Africa, in partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the CHANEL Foundation, is launching the Voix EssentiELLES initiative, which aims to strengthen the voice of women and girls and thus promote their involvement in the processes and decision-making spaces that influence health policies and programmes.
Launched as part of the Generation Equality Forum, a global gathering for gender equality organised by the United Nations this week, Voix EssentiELLES aims to foster the involvement of women's organisations, leaders and groups in decision-making platforms. Applications are now open and 50 organisations will be eligible for technical and financial support. The project will aim to strengthen their skills and abilities to influence policies and programmes that directly affect their health and well-being.
Women's and girls' organisations and networks in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal are invited to apply for grants through the new dedicated fund. In a second phase, the initiative will be extended to other countries in Central and West Africa over the next three years. Each organisation can apply for a grant of up to 5 million CFA francs (US$10,000) to strengthen its voice in and contribute to the design of health programmes and policies in its country.
Through this initiative, the selected community-based organisations will be offered a customised training programme that will enable women and girls from Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal to strengthen their organisational, leadership, advocacy and communication skills. The training modules, tailored to the needs of the selected organisations based on an assessment and the national context, in collaboration with an advisory board, will be delivered by the University of excELLEnce in the three countries.
Women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse our hard-won gains and progress towards gender equality
said Caty Fall Sow, Regional Director for West and Central Africa at the Global Fund
The Global Fund is honoured to be part of Essential Voices to continue to give voice to women and girls and to support their meaningful engagement in the development of health policies that affect their health and well-being.
Despite the progress made, our societies are still far from having made gender equality a permanent reality. It is estimated that it will take at least 135.6 years for women to achieve equality in work and pay. Yet gender equality is essential to building more sustainable societies and political and economic ecosystems.
The sustainable development of Africa will not become a reality without the active participation of women and girls. It is crucial to have initiatives such as Voix EssentiELLES, which aim to provide a rallying point for civil society organisations and federate energies in an endogenous dynamic of reflection based on different women's experiences at the micro and/or local level.
said Prof. Ndioro Ndiaye, Coordinator of the Francophone Network for Gender Equality, International Organisation of La Francophonie.
In partnership with ExcELLEnce University, Speak Up Africa will organise advocacy meetings in each country with key stakeholders and selected women and girls' organisations. The aim is to maximise their inclusion in national coalitions and decision-making spaces and processes in their respective countries.
As a women-led organisation in Africa, we are particularly passionate about the issues addressed by Voix EssentiELLES, and are therefore delighted to help manage and organise this important project. It is essential that women and girls take ownership of the issues that affect their health and are empowered to play their part in decision-making spaces to develop effective policies for them and future generations. We look forward to working with community-based women's organisations in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, and I hope that many of them will take this opportunity to make a difference by applying now.
concluded Yacine Djibo, Executive Director of Speak Up Africa.
To mark the launch of this initiative and transformative fund, Speak Up Africa organised an inter-generational and inter-sectoral roundtable, with a keynote address by Professor Ndioro Ndiaye, former Minister of Women, Children and the Family in Senegal and Coordinator of the Francophone Network for Gender Equality at the International Organisation of the Francophonie. The round table brought together the following speakers:
Civil society organisations are key to ensuring that the voice of the people is heard. Projects such as Voix EssentiELLES will go a long way to supporting women and girls in local communities, ensuring that they have influence in wider health policies and programmes.
said Nogaye Sow, Bajenu Gox (neighbourhood sponsor), Thienaba, Senegal
As part of the launch of the Essential Voices project, community dialogues will be held in Thienaba in Senegal, Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Dabou in Côte d'Ivoire. These dialogues will support our engagement with the communities and help us to get feedback on the Essential Voices project and how the initiative can best serve the communities.
Voix EssentiELLES directly supports Sustainable Development Goal 5 and the commitment of the Equality Forum's Coalition of Action for Women's Leadership and Movements. The goal is to increase the participation and decision-making power of women, girls and feminist leaders, including trans, intersex and non-binary women, by 2026.
For more information on how to apply to Voix Essentielles, visit the website: www.voixessentielles.org or contact us by WhatsApp on +221 77 187 76 94.
Based in Dakar, Senegal, Speak Up Africa is a political action and advocacy group dedicated to catalysing leadership, driving policy change and raising awareness of sustainable development in Africa. With the health and well-being of all at the heart of our concerns, we support SDGs 1-6 by transforming societies across Africa and ensuring that every man, woman and child has the means to live a long and healthy life. Through our platforms and relationships, and with the help of our partners, we ensure that decision-makers meet implementers, that solutions are presented, and that every sector - from individual citizens and civil society groups to global donors and business leaders - contributes critically to the dialogue and works to develop plans for concrete action for public health and sustainable development.
The Global Fund is a partnership designed to accelerate the end of the AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria epidemics. As an international organization, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests more than US$ 4 billion annually to support locally managed programs in over 100 countries. In partnership with governments, civil society, technical agencies, the private sector and people affected by these diseases, the Global Fund addresses barriers and promotes innovation. Removing barriers related to gender and human rights is one of the Global Fund's strategic priorities; with meaningful community engagement at the heart of its strategy and related processes. For more information: www.theglobalfund.org.