Our Own Funding Agency
A new international aid agency for women -- one of only a handful of such agencies in the world -- was created in Australia last year.
Known as the International Women's Development Agency, the new organization will support development programs planned and managed by women's voluntary organizations and provide consultancy services on women and development to governmental and non-governmental organizations. The group grew partly out of the Australian-based Women and Development Network, which has had considerable success in lobbying the Australian public and private donor agencies to take account of the needs and rights of women.
Wendy Poussard, one of three coordinators of the new agency, explained some the motivation behind its formation: "Though aid programs now acknowledge that women's concerns are important, women of Third World countries are still usually regarded as targets rather than as the agents of development," she said. "IWDA seeks to identify and implement projects which demonstrate women's competence and effectiveness as the agents of development, contributing to their communities and developing their own skills and organizational and economic strengths."
Wendy Poussard is the former coordinator of the Women and Development Network. The two other initiators behind the new funding agency are Dr. Ruth Pfanner, formerly Women and Development Adviser in the Australian Development Assistance Bureau, and Wendy Rose, formerly officer of the YWCA in Australia and the Australian Council for Overseas Aid.
The new agency is financed by earnings from consultancies, private donations, and some government funding. From funding obtained so far, it has already launched a primary health care project providing training to Muslim women and poor urban women in Mindanao, Philippines. It is also seeking funding for a rural women's agricultural training fund in Tanzania and a sanitation and water project in Honduras.
To get in touch with the new agency, contact:
International Women's Development Agency
P.O.Box 372 Abbotsford, Victoria 3067 Australia
Money for Action
Another important new source of funds for women's groups is the United Nations Development Fund for Women, or UNIFEM. Formerly the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women established in 1976, UNIFEM was created by the United Nations last year in order to provide a continuing source of funds for women's development activities beyond the close of the Decade. The fund is open to direct application from women's NGOs.
UNIFEM's priority is to "assist rural and poor urban women, especially those in least developed, landlocked and island developing countries." Since 1978, UNIFEM and its predecessor fund have committed US $30 million to more than 400 projects in 91 countries.
You can contact UNIFEM at the following address and telephone:
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
Room DC2-1370 United Nations 2 UN Plaza New York, NY 10017 USA
Tel. (212) 754-7055
