DR Congo, Sudan get UN grants to fight gender-based violence

NEW YORK, Nov 16, 2004 (PANA) — Sudan and DR Congo have been listed among 17 countries worldwide to benefit from $1 million in grants announced Tuesday by the UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence Against Women.

Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of the UN Fund for Women
(UNIFEM), which administers the grants, said the problem of
gender-based violence only deepens in situations of war and
conflicts.

In all, 17 groups in developing countries will receive the latest
grants, including community leaders in DR Congo who will be
trained to address the communal impact of violence against women.

In the southern Sudan, the grant would help build the capacity to
document the war’s impact on women and to influence post-conflict reconstruction, and ensure better access for women to services and training to participate in peace processes.

Other beneficiaries include the West Bank, Gaza Strip and
Jerusalem, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The Fund, a unique multilateral mechanism established by the UN General Assembly in 1996, has granted $8.3 million to 175
initiatives in 96 countries since then.

Demand continues to outstrip supply. UNIFEM has received up to $17.5 million in requests, with only about $1 million to give out each year.

“For every project funded, there are at least 10 turned away,” Heyzer said. “Our biggest obstacle is not a lack of ideas. It is a lack of resources.”