In 2012, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) received a total of 905 grant applications from 35 Africancountries. A total of 187 organisations from 32 African countries were awarded grants of $2,176,500 in the following thematic areas: Women’s Human Rights, Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods, Governance, Peace and Security, Reproductive Health and Rights, HIV/AIDS, and Arts, Culture and Sports.

The highest percentage of grants awarded (34.3%) was in the area of Women’s Human Rights. In this thematic area AWDF prioritized funding work that addresses issues of gender based violence and access to justice including issues of forced marriages, female genital mutilation and domestic violence. Other priorities included building young women’s leadership, movement building, the promotion and protection of women’s rights including land and property rights, and adult literacy for women. Our grantee partners working in this area utilized a variety of methodologies to meet their objectives including training paralegals, setting up monitoring committees, establishing gender clubs, implementing referral mechanisms and enhancing access to justice. Grantee partners also utilized sports, drama, radio, information vans and community/market place campaigns as a tool to disseminate information on Women’s Human Rights.

The breakdown of grants disbursed in other thematic areas were as follows:

Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods – 21%

HIV and AIDS – 19%

Governance, Peace and Security – 13.9%

Reproductive Health and Rights – 6%

Arts, Culture and Sports – 5%