Integrating Gender
USAID has been working to reintegrate ex-combatants from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) into peaceful occupations. Among those trained, a group of women ex-combatants has received training to become active participants in implementing the program, and in several cases, to become commercial seaweed farmers.
USAID ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMS
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, East Timor,
Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mongolia,
Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, West Bank/Gaza and
Yemen
CONTACTS
Vijitha Mahadevan Eyango
Senior Gender Advisor
Tel: (202) 712-1048
Email: veyango@usaid.gov
Overview
USAID integrates gender within
its overall development strategies and goals. It ensures that gender
equity is at the core of all fields – health, education, agriculture,
economic growth and democracy and governance. The Asia and Near East
region has made enormous strides in reducing gender inequity in school
enrollments, reducing maternal and infant mortality rates, increasing
training and support for women’s political and economic participation
and improving literacy.
SAMPLE PROGRAMS
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUT OF SCHOOL GIRLS
Egypt’s
New School Program, targets girls between ages 6-14, who have never
enrolled or dropped out of school, giving them opportunities to
complete their primary education through building new schools and
conducting awareness campaigns. The education component for older
illiterate girls, ages 14-18, assist those who cannot be enrolled in
the formal education system. To date, 70 new primary schools, 187
multi-grade classrooms and 11 temporary classrooms, serving more than
39,000 students, 85% of them are girls, have been established.
PROVIDING WOMEN WITH LIVESTOCK TRAINING IN AFGHANISTAN
Women veterinary assistants participate in USAID’s Alternative
Livelihoods program which supports livestock production by training
over 1,500 women in southern Kunar and eastern Nangarhar. All the women
trained are responsible for two to five cattle. As a testament to their
success, rural communities and government officials continue to praise
this program and to request its expansion to other districts in the
region.
FACILITATING WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT IN MOROCCO
In Morocco, USAID implements the Advanced Learning and Employability
for a Better Future Program. This program includes a women’s literacy
component that has introduced learner-friendly materials based on the
Family Code in Moroccan Arabic and Berber dialects.
SUSTAINING TSUNAMI RECOVERY EFFORTS IN ACEH
USAID’s tsunami programs have supported 16 women's cooperatives which
are now providing financial services and loans to over 2,200 women and
vocational training to young women. Women-led NGOs opened a women's
crisis center and promoted gender issues throughout Aceh. An
anti-trafficking program has launched a broad awareness campaign
including training religious leaders, legal professionals, school
teachers and principals to identify and combat trafficking.
PROVIDING HEALTHCARE WORKERS WITH SKILLS
USAID helped establish Yemen’s first Midwives Association. With only 97
midwives in 2004, it now has over 1,200 members and plays an important
role in gathering midwives from all governorates and districts
nationwide to provide them with the adequate training that eventually
contributes to increasing the quality of maternal and child health.
This program has been enhanced to build the capacity of its board
members.
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