Africa represents in the top 100 NGOs list

The Global Journal, an international magazine, recently released a list of NGOs from around the globe that they believe encapsulates the words ‘innovation’, ‘impact’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘efficiency’. The top five NGOs in the list are The Wikimedia Foundation, Partners in Health, Oxfam, BRAC and International Rescue Committee. It is refreshing to see a number of African founded organizations on the list, it in most ways shows that we aren’t just recipients of acts of benevolence and relief, but that we are also involved in the solution towards the continent’s progress.  Here’s the list of the African NGOs on the list:

#10 Ushadidi

Ushahidi is a Kenyan headquartered non-profit tech company that specializes in developing free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping. The organization builds tools for democratizing information, increasing transparency and lowering the barriers for individuals to share their stories. For more information visit www.ushahidi.com

#24 Apopo

APOPO is a Tanzanian headquartered social enterprise that researches, develops and disseminates detection rats technology for humanitarian purposes. APOPO was initiated in response to the global landmine problem. To find about more this amazing innovation visit http://www.apopo.org/

#45 ActionAid Internatonal

Headquartered in Johannesburg – the only large international development organization based in Africa – ActionAid International was established in 2003 with a renewed purpose of giving country programs a greater voice at the operational and strategic level. With projects in the areas of food rights, women’s rights, democratic governance, public education, disaster prevention and recovery, climate change and HIV/AIDS, ActionAid is present today in more than 40 countries and reaches over 25 million people. For more information visit http://www.actionaid.org/

#49 Forum for African Women Educationalists

FAWE is a pan-African Non-Governmental Organisation working in 32 African countries to empower girls and women through gender-responsive education. The organisation works hand-in-hand with communities, schools, civil society, Non-Governmental Organisations and ministries to achieve gender equity and equality in education through targeted programmes.  For more information visit http://www.fawe.org/

#41 Tostan

Tostan's mission is to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights. The organization works primarily in remote regions in providing provide holistic, participatory education to adults and adolescents who have not had access to formal schooling. Tostan means "breakthrough" in the West African language of Wolof. Since 1991, Tostan has brought its holistic 30-month education program to thousands of communities in ten African countries: Burkina Faso, Djibouti, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Somalia, and Sudan. For more information visit http://www.tostan.org/

#60 One Acre Fund

One Acre Fund is an agriculture orgnisation that helps East African farmers grow their own way out of hunger. Launched in 2006, the organization provides a ‘market bundle’ of services – including seed and fertilizer, financing, education, and market facilitation – that enables farmers to double their income per planted acre in one year. For more information visit http://www.oneacrefund.org/

#81 African Medical and Research Foundation

AMREF is an internation African organisation headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya with a mission to ensure that every African can enjoy the right to good health by helping to create vibrant networks of informed communities that work with empowered health care providers in strong health systems. The core focus of the organisation is the develoment of evidence based knowledge as a way to advocate for changes in health policy and practice. The organisation implements its projects through country programmes in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Southern Sudan and South Africa. For more information visit http://www.amref.org/

To view the full list please visit the Global Journal Website

World Development Report 2011: Gender Equality and Development

“Women should work. Why should I stay at home if I can work outside? I should also earn income and my people and myself should enjoy the money I can make. Those days where our mothers were to ask for money from our fathers, even for simple things like underwear are gone: we need our own money and this means that we should work.”

Young woman in Bukoba municipality, Tanzania

The World Bank recently published its World Development Report 2012, this time around focusing on Gender Equality and Development. It is a lengthy report (452 pages) that covers all areas that are deemed important when referring to gender equality and reform.  The report provides extensive data that covers issues of health, education, economic participation and the progress of the millennium development goals. With the help of the data, the report takes an empirical approach to understand the major differences between the state of welfare of men and women. The report uses historical data (drawn from the World Bank’s past research) to understand the progress thus far. Major themes  that the report covers besides the economic outcomes include: the impact of globalization on gender equality, economic opportunities, and women’s agency. The report ends with a section on the necessary policy interventions needs to fasten the progress of gender equality. Some of these policy interventions and their related initiatives include:

Closing gender gaps in human endowments

• Increasing access to education among disadvantaged groups
• Increasing access to clean water
• Increasing access to specialized maternity services

Closing gender gaps in voice and agency

• Increasing women’s access to the justice system
• Shifting norms regarding violence against women

Supporting evidence based public action

• Generating new information
• Facilitation knowledge sharing and learning

This report might not qualify as a summer read, but definitely an excellent point of reference to anything related to gender (in)equality, and if you are in the sector this report will no doubt add value to your current work.