Author: Judith Helzner
Publisher:
Published: 2017
Total Pages:
ISBN-13:
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The Sahel Womenu2019s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project of the World Bank is investing over US$200 million in a multi-component program aimed at improving both supply of and demand for family planning in 7 francophone West African countries that rank in the bottom tier on gender equality in the Human Development Index: Niger (ranked 189 of 189), Chad (186), Burkina Faso (183), Mali (182), Cote du2019Ivoire (170), Benin (163), and Mauritania (159). One component offers educational, economic and life skills programs for women and girls. Governments have been following expert advice on evidence-based practices, such as conditional cash transfers to keep girls in secondary school; u201csafe spacesu201d with life skills training; and support for vocational training in non-traditional professions. Three countries are undertaking an unprecedented rigorous impact evaluation to examine a question never studied before: what difference does it make to girlsu2019 empowerment results if boys in the same communities are also trained in ways that break gender norm stereotypes? The advocacy components include social and behavior change communications: local radio programs, and outreach to religious and traditional leaders of both Muslim and Christian faiths, both during proposal development and as a requirement during implementation.Improving the quality and the distribution of contraceptives is a specific focus, as is training providers (e.g., refresher courses for midwives on a new curriculum that includes gender and adolescent challenges).An additional advocacy element is comprised of explicit efforts to ensure that ministers of finance and others not generally committed to improving the status of women understand the potential for a u201cdemographic dividendu201d in their countries u2013 a one-time boost of economic growth possible only if demand for family planning can be increased and supply improved, with appropriate policies on labor force participation in place. This poster will demonstrate how a group of countries from French West Africa u2013 an often-ignored setting in womenu2019s empowerment circles u2013 are jointly learning and promoting regional lessons on advocating with governments to invest in women and girls, advocating with many diverse actors to support gender equality, and training girls (and boys) in ways that break gender stereotypes.