Women s. Investing in Women to Fight Hunger Worldwide

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1 Fighting Hunger Worldwide Women s Empowerment Fund Investing in Women to Fight Hunger Worldwide

2 WFP/Simon Crittle Investing in Women to Fight Hunger Worldwide Women make up a little over half the world s population but in many regions, especially in Asia and Latin America, they are more likely than men to go hungry. The majority of beneficiaries of the United Nations World Food Programme are women and children. Investing in women is an investment in food security that will pay dividends for generations to come. They are most often the ones who grow the food and prepare the meals. Experience has shown that in the hands of women, food is most likely to reach the mouths of children in need. WFP operates many programmes the world over that empower women and girls, including:» Food for Work and Food for Training Programmes providing food rations to women, in exchange for work that benefits their communities» School Meals Programmes reducing the educational gender gap through incentives offered to girls attending school» Access to Food and Nutrition ensuring women receive the right food at the right time so that their children are healthy. This breaks the cycle of child malnutrition» Women Farmers: Purchase for Progress providing women farmers with training, tools and purchase commitments, P4P encourages greater yields and builds sustainable businesses People often ask me, what can be done to defeat hunger? If you had all the resources in the world to end hunger, what would you do? My answer is simple: empower women, because women are the secret weapon to fight hunger. Josette Sheeran, WFP Executive Director» HIV Education and Prevention offering basic healthcare, HIV prevention services and a safe haven for women at high risk for infection, violence and sexual abuse» Training for Women in Conflict Zones providing a safe haven and training for women subjected to displacement, sexual violence and abuse resulting from war and armed conflict 2

3 What is the Women s Empowerment Fund? The Women s Empowerment Fund raises money to support WFP programmes aimed at helping women and girls find a way out of hunger and malnutrition. WFP uses food assistance in creative ways to help women break the cycle of hunger and poverty and fulfil their potential. WFP/Shehzad Noorani WFP/Charles Hatch-Barnwell 10 Facts about Women and Hunger 1. Research confirms that putting more income in the hands of women yields beneficial results for health, education and child nutrition. 2. Women make up a little over half the world's population but in many parts of the world, especially in Asia and South America, they are more likely to go hungry than men. 3. Following natural disasters, women and girls suffer more from shortages of food. 4. Closing the gender gap in agriculture by giving women farmers more resources could bring the number of hungry people in the world down by million people. We know these programmes work every donation to help women and girls is an investment in the future of the whole community. Donations to the Women s Empowerment Fund are used in a wide variety of programmes, such as those highlighted here, or in specific countries according to WFP s greatest needs. 5. Surveys in a wide range of countries have shown that women provide percent of the time spent on household food preparation. 6. Women in Africa work an average of 50 percent longer each day than men. 7. Worldwide, for every 100 boys out of school there are 122 girls. But in some countries the gender gap is much wider. For every 100 boys out of school in Benin there are 257 girls, in Yemen 270 girls, in Iraq 316 girls, and in India 426 girls. 8. Educated mothers have healthier families. Their children are better nourished, are less likely to die in infancy and more likely to attend school. 9. Around half of all pregnant women in developing countries are anaemic. Iron deficiency causes around 110,000 deaths during childbirth each year. 10. Malnourished mothers often give birth to underweight babies who are 20 percent more likely to die before the age of five. Up to 17 million children are born underweight every year. 3

4 Our Fund: Programmes to Help Women Help Themselves Women s Empowerment Programmes: An Overview Category Programme Title Location Duration Cost Impact Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs & Innovators Training Women Entrepreneurs Ethiopia 12 Months US$120,000 1,600 Women Entrepreneurs Promoting Human Rights, Enhancing Literacy and Entrepreneurship Afghanistan 11 Months US$139,000 5,000 Women Access to Food and Nutrition Improving Food Security with Village Granaries Cameroon 6 Months US$400, Community Granaries Advancing Women Farmers Dry Season Gardening to Combat Micronutrient Deficiency Ghana 6 Months US$82, Women Farmers Groups Reducing Violence Against Women & Reducing Environmental Impact Safe Cooking Solutions for Healthy Lives: Building Energy-Efficient Stoves (SAFE Stoves) SAFE Stoves Sri Lanka Haiti 18 Months 24 Months US$650,000 US$3 million 137,000 Households 1 million School Children WFP/Gabriel Baptista 4

5 Women s Empowerment Fund Programme Details The following programmes describe diverse projects with special impact on women and girls across the developing world. These programmes insufficiently funded by public donations are in special need of funding to reach and lift more women out of their conditions of poverty and hunger. The impact of these programmes is immeasurable. Ethiopia Training Women Entrepreneurs The Tigray and Amhara regions of Ethiopia are the country s poorest areas and contain the highest rate of hungry inhabitants. Women in particular face the seemingly impossible challenge of raising a family while simultaneously securing enough income to support their needs. To create income-generating opportunities for women, WFP will train 1,600 entrepreneurial women on the principles of cooperatives and savings and credit, business plan preparation, book keeping, marketing, leadership and technical understanding of income-generating packages. Additionally, the training will focus on alleviating hunger issues by targeting food security-related trades such as beekeeping, poultry-raising, grain trade and vegetable production which will benefit the community greatly. Ethiopia - One Year Project US$120,000 Direct Impact: 1,600 Women Entrepreneurs WFP/Judith Schuler Afghanistan Promoting Human Rights, Enhancing Literacy and Entrepreneurship Among Afghan Women WFP will work to combat violence against women and promote human rights in Afghanistan. The proposed project aims to (i) create an environment for women s empowerment and provide services such as reading material and training workshops. It would assist graduates of literacy courses; help graduates of vocational training courses with practical handson information on how to set up small businesses; increase awareness of adolescent girls about human rights and how to report cases of violence against women; (ii) support capacity development efforts by the Department of Women s Affairs in Nangarhar and Badakhshan Provinces. These are provinces where people struggle to provide food for their families. Badakhshan, a remote, mountainous area, has the highest percentage of food-insecure people in the country. In total at least 5,000 women will have access to the project in both provinces and 2,100 women are predicted to benefit from the proposed education and vocational training. Afghanistan - Eleven Month Project US$139,000 Direct Impact: 5,000 Women 5 WFP/Challiss McDonough

6 Ghana Enhancing Women s Empowerment Through Dry Season Gardening to Control Micronutrient Deficiency in Northern Ghana The project will strengthen efforts to reduce micronutrient deficiencies in the three poorest regions of Ghana. The objectives of the project are: (i) to introduce dry season gardening as an activity for women to encourage them to grow nutritious food and generate income and (ii) to empower women and engender interest among communities in the fight against malnutrition. In northern Ghana, as many as 89 percent of households in the Upper East and Upper West Regions do not use iodated salt, for example. As a consequence, pregnant women face increased risks of stillbirth, neonatal mortality and miscarriage. Iodine deficiency also contributes to poor school performance, reduced intellectual ability and performance in the workplace. Anaemia prevalence is unacceptably high; 78 percent of children and the majority of women are anaemic. With the assistance of an extension worker, 120 women from ten women farmers groups would be assisted to develop dry season gardens. Ghana - Six Month Project US$82,650 Direct Impact: 10 Women Farmers Groups WFP/Stephanie Savariaud Cameroon Beating Hunger with Village Granaries In northern Cameroon, WFP helps set up community granaries in areas affected by drought and hunger to ensure people have access to food all year round, even during the lean season. WFP helps build a small warehouse and provides an initial 10 metric tons of cereal to each granary, as well as training for management committees in food storage, bookkeeping etc. Two or three well-respected members of the community hold the keys to the granary and act as storekeepers. Villagers can withdraw grain from the granary during hard times and pay it back later with their own crops during harvest time. They can also obtain food, or small cash loans, and if they don t have grain to offer, they can provide a chicken or a goat as collateral. Around 90 percent of WFP-supported village granaries in Cameroon are run by women and in the last two years they have benefitted 300,000 people. Many of them are in the North and Far North regions, on the edge of the drought-hit Sahel. Cameroon - Six Month Project US$400,000 Direct Impact: 200 Community Granaries WFP/Jane Howard 6

7 SAFE Cooking Solutions for Healthy Lives The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves will tackle the severe health, economic and environmental consequences associated with smoke from traditional cookstoves and open fires used by over half the world s population. In keeping with this, WFP is leading the implementation and placement of clean and efficient cooking stoves that will save lives, improve livelihoods and empower women. WFP SAFE (Safe Access to Firewood and Alternative Energy in Humanitarian Settings) projects include: Sri Lanka SAFE Stoves Mine clearance efforts are ongoing in conflict-affected areas of Sri Lanka. Priority has been given to residential areas to facilitate the return of the displaced population, where access to firewood is hampered by the fear and threat of landmines. Most at risk are women and children, who are the main collectors of firewood for domestic cooking. WFP plans to disseminate energy-saving stoves in high-risk resettlement sites throughout the Northern region. Relatively cheap, the stove could be easily commercialized, and WFP plans to establish stove production centers throughout the North. In addition, support for fast-growing fuel wood plantations and home gardens will be considered to facilitate the access of women to fuel for domestic cooking. Sri Lanka - Eighteen Month Project US$650,000 Direct Impact: 137,000 Households WFP/Ryan Anderson Haiti SAFE Stoves WFP s long-term strategy in Haiti is to support the Government and Haitian society to recover from the earthquake, to build resilience to future shocks and to strengthen livelihoods. The production and dissemination of fuel-efficient stoves and alternative fuel sources throughout the country are part of the longer-term recovery goals in Haiti. WFP plans to leverage the schools as an entry point to help the Government in its efforts to effect cultural, behavioral and economic change in relation to fuel and stove utilization. WFP will provide fuel-efficient stoves to WFPsupported schools and students, and help pilot fuel alternatives, including the most appropriate and environmentally friendly cooking technologies. WFP/Anne Poulsen Haiti - Two Year Project US$3 Million Direct Impact: 1 Million School Children 7

8 Front Cover photo: WFP/Debbi Morello Back Cover photo: WFP/Jane Howard How You Can Help For more information Please contact WFP s Private Partnerships Division at or resources@wfp.org. To find out how you can partner with WFP to make a difference in the fight against hunger, see wfp.org/partnerships. September 2011