World Bank launches two gender-based initiatives for Africa

The World Bank has launched two evidence based initiatives to improve its gender programmes in Africa.

The two are the Africa Gender Action Plan and the Gender Innovation Lab, the World Bank announced March 8, 2013 to mark the International Women’s Day.

The World Bank said the Africa Gender Action Plan is a five year blueprint for the Bank’s gender informed activities, and the Gender Innovation Lab is to bring scientific solutions through rigorous impact evaluation that will transform how the World Bank will identify development solutions for some of its poorest clients.

“Combined, the World Bank Africa Gender Action Plan and Gender Innovation Lab will link scientific evidence to guide gender-related lending operations in Africa,” it said.

According to Makhar Diop, World Bank Vice President for Africa, “…we have moved from an intuitive understanding of gender programmes to add the Gender Innovation Lab that will fill the knowledge gap by providing more qualitative and quantitative evidence than ever about what works and what doesn’t in terms of gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa,”

The Bank indicated that the Gender Innovation Lab has received financial support from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) in the amount of $18 million.

By Ekow Quandzie