Grants and Contributions

This initiative aims to strengthen the economic empowerment and resilience of women in all their diversity through their increased participation in digitally enabled economy in Cameroon and Senegal. With a focus on women in the informal agriculture sector and those in the early stages of business development (1 to 5 years), the project addresses barriers that limit technology use for business growth. Project activities include: (1) training women entrepreneurs to use digital tools, strengthen cybersecurity, and improve marketing; (2) providing gender-responsive business management training, an online hub with templates and resources, and pathways to financing to help women access broader markets; and (3) building capacity in local partner organizations to sustain women’s empowerment and gender equality initiatives.
The project directly benefits 1,000 urban and rural women entrepreneurs (500 per country) and indirectly benefits 5,000 to 7,000 family members, plus 300 women accessing services and training through local partner organizations.

This project aims to improve equality, enjoyment of human rights, and freedom from sexual and gender-based violence for women and girls in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tonga. The Project seeks to increase inclusive and gender-responsive promotion and protection of women and girls’ right to live free from sexual and gender-based violence. The project targets approximately 441,000 Indigenous women and girls, especially during frequent and climate-induced extreme weather events. It aims to increase accountability and transparency of governments through training and mentoring (132 representatives from key government ministries and agencies) and capacity building of intermediaries (285 representatives from civil society organizations, women’s rights organizations and local community and religious leaders) to delivery more inclusive and gender-responsive sexual and gender-based violence-related public services for women and girls, particularly sexual and gender-based violence survivors, including during and after extreme weather events.

Project activities include: (1) supporting community-based capacity building and advocacy events for women and girls; (2) providing capacity building training to community leaders and civil society organizations, especially women’s rights organizations, on developing community-based sexual and gender-based violence and rights awareness strategies; (3) providing training to community, traditional and religious leaders on gender sensitivity, positive behavior change and challenging harmful social norms; (4) conducting sexual and gender-based violence awareness raising campaigns and activities for men and boys to promote positive social and behavior change; (5) providing training to parliamentarians, local and national government authorities on survivor-centered, trauma-informed, rights-based sexual and gender-based violence prevention and response measures that are informed for climate-induced extreme weather events; and (6) providing training and mentoring to local and national authorities to implement adapted and new guidelines, tools and processes that reflect the region’s environmental vulnerabilities.

This project aims to improve the conservation and restoration of ecosystems through Integrated Fire Management in the Amazon basin. Project activities include: the development of a digital platform for the Fire Hub as a centralized information source of integrated fire management, regional training on integrated fire management, support to Indigenous populations to reduce wildfire risks and engage in conservation, and support for cross-country collaboration. The project will directly support 500 fire professionals at the local, regional, and national level, as well as indirectly supporting an estimated 100,000 people through the digital platform and cooperation activities.

This project aims to strengthen the protection and promotion of the right to health of LGBTI+ persons and improve access to quality comprehensive health services in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a specific focus in Colombia and Panama. It will cover four areas: 1) research to gather evidence on the specific health needs of LGBTI+ individuals; 2) the representation of LGBTI+ individuals and organizations in the health sector; 3) the availability and quality of health services and resources for these individuals; 4) the capacity of civil society organizations to advocate for LGBTI+ rights. PAHO will provide technical cooperation to Colombia and Panama to strengthen the protection and promotion of the right to health of LGBT+ people and improve access to quality comprehensive rights-based people-centered health services at national and subnational levels. Additional countries and regional entities will also be supported through learning exchanges and actions that strengthen health and rights promotion efforts.

This project supports the Overseas Development Institute’s (ODI) Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) program, focusing on responses to the complex "polycrisis" affecting societies globally. It aims to strengthen the knowledge and application of GESI approaches to address intertwined social, economic, political, and environmental challenges. Through the ALIGN (Advancing Learning and Innovation on Gender Norms) platform platform, the project provides resources for policymakers, practitioners, and civil society actors to incorporate GESI strategies in their work, promoting resilience and equality in changing geopolitical contexts. Key activities include: (1) generating evidence on gender-inclusive policies; (2) supporting dialogues to counter gender backlash; (3) fostering inclusive research networks; and (4) empowering global South partners to drive local, impactful change?.

This project aims to builds resilient food systems and empowers communities in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. The United Nations World Food Program implements this project to address the interconnected challenges of climate change and environmental degradation, food insecurity, and socio-economic instability. It works to strengthen communities against climate change and improve their ability to manage shocks independently, reducing the need for humanitarian assistance. The Sahel Integrated Resilience Programme seeks to reach over 5 million people (50.8% women) in 4,500 villages and rehabilitate 420,000 hectares of land by 2028. The project focuses on areas most vulnerable to climate shocks and food insecurity. It rehabilitates degraded land, improves agropastoral productivity, and connects smallholder farmers to local markets. The project also addresses malnutrition, promotes climate-resilient crops, and supports local food systems. Project activities include: (1) creating asset and supporting smallholder market; (2) integrating nutrition; and (3) integrating school-based package interventions.

The Enhancing Climate-Resilient Agriculture and Livelihoods for Women and Youth in Sudan project aims to improve food security for 49,500 people, particularly women and youth, in rural areas of Sudan. Project activities include (1) Providing training to develop capacities of state, local actors, NGOs, and local communities to plan, implement, and mobilize resources for integrated landscape management; (2) Establishing and operating 160 climate-sensitive farmer field and business schools to promote climate-resilient agricultural technologies and practices; (3) Train women through 12 WE-FBS (Women’s Empowerment Farm Business School) to develop and management at least 12 agri-food enterprises; (4) Provide training and other supports to farmers in establishing and rehabilitating agricultural assets, including water and food storage systems, for agri-food value chains; and (5) Providing training and other support to strengthen the capacities of government and non-state actors for gender-responsive Climate-Smart Agriculture, landscape management, and sustainable agri-food value chains. FAO is implementing the project with government and non-government organizations, private companies, and community groups.

The project aims to strengthen press freedom for climate and environmental journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Rwanda. Over a 36-month period, International Press Institute would monitor and collect data on press freedom violations, focusing on climate and environmental journalism in sub-Saharan Africa. It would establish a multi-stakeholder coalition to co-create advocacy materials to raise awareness of threats to press freedom and journalist safety, urging public and private actors to fulfill commitments to protect these rights. The coalition would also coordinate actions against attacks, including information manipulation, targeting environmental journalists, and provide capacity building and support for at-risk journalists in the region.

The project will facilitate continued support to T/PCCs and the UN, in support of the Canadian-led Elsie Initiative for Women in UN Peace Operations. The EIF was established by Canada in 2019, following the launch of the Elsie Initiative in 2017 at the Vancouver UN peacekeeping ministerial. This contribution is the last planned Canadian contribution to the EIF at this time (funding post-2027 is not yet determined) and is sourced from dedicated funding for the Elsie Initiative from the TB Submission on UN peace operations and peacebuilding (2022-2027). EIF-funded interventions have helped identify and address the various barriers faced by uniformed women in deploying to UN peacekeeping missions. EIF-funded interventions include Measuring Opportunities for Women in Peacekeeping (MOWIP) barrier assessments; construction of gender-sensitive accommodations, training, and daycare facilities; financial premiums for GSU (gender-strong unit) deployments; development of gender policies, strategies and action plans; and training and capacity building. The EIF is the only dedicated trust fund to support and incentivize the meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping. Funding is an important factor enabling Member States to advance the participation of women in UN peace operations and supports recent efforts by the Elsie Initiative and the EIF to incentivize quality as well as volume of Member State Peacekeeping contributions. Initiatives under the EIF go beyond numerical targets to ensure that women are represented across all ranks and functions, in non-traditional roles and positions of leadership, and in enabling environments that offer parity for deployment conditions.

This research project will explore the complex, hybrid nature of modern cyber threats that arise from the alignment of both state interests and non-state actors, including criminals, hacktivists, and private sector entities. By examining the proxy relationships between states and non-state actors in this conflict, the project will contribute to a deeper and more nuanced understanding of cyber operations in modern warfare and their intersections with global governance, criminal accountability, and international law.