WFDA Advocacy Agenda

The international community's verbal commitments to fight poverty and empower women have not yet been translated into a commitment of resources needed for real global breakthroughs. WFDA bridges this gap by increasing political will and action to "engender" global poverty alleviation efforts. Our priority target is expanding financial and organizational investments by bilateral and multilateral donors, governments, and other organizations and networks working in development. The WFDA will achieve this goal through a high profile advocacy and communications campaign. We will measure our success by concrete policy changes and expanded resources allocated to women and girls' empowerment.

The WFDA advocacy campaign focuses on increasing the political will of governments, multilateral institutions, corporations, and non-governmental organizations to put women and girls at the center of global poverty efforts. From the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the United States Government's global assistance programs, the World Bank's billions in lending to poor countries to global public campaigns such as Make Poverty History, women and girls are marginalized into side programs or considered a special sector.

The fact is that women and girls make up 70 percent of the world's poorest people.  If poverty programs are to be effective, they must focus on women and girls, rather than place them at the periphery.  Decades of research and analysis have shown that investments in women and girls are also the most effective solutions to poverty.  However, resources for women and girls in poverty remain disproportionately low compared to overall global allocations of aid.

The WFDA brings diverse communities and faiths together to convey a message to global decision makers loudly and clearly: the time is now to increase resources on women and girls and end poverty.

Rather than focus its advocacy on specific areas such as education, health care, and microenterprise--all of which are critically important to women--the WFDA is focusing media, public and political attention on making sure that all programs, no matter the sector, include women and girls as well as push for more focus on global poverty in general.

WFDA advocacy priorities in the short term will include influencing the U.S. Presidential candidates as well as the the U.S. Government generally.  In addition, the WFDA will target important decisions being made at the United Nations and other global institutions that impact women and girls.

If you care about these issues, your organization can join the WFDA Alliance by clicking here.

If your organization would like to become more engaged in the WFDA's ongoing advocacy and education campaign, please contact Lorelle Curry, Women Thrive Worldwide, 202-884-8396 or lcurry@womenthrive.org.

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