SADC convenes Gender Clinic on Project Preparation and Financing

On 25 March 2019, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) convened a Gender Mainstreaming in the Water Sector Project Preparation and Financing Clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa. The workshop, organised with support from the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA), brought together financiers, project developers/promoters, project implementers, gender focal points and gender machinery from the 16 SADC countries to discuss practical issues with regards to gender mainstreaming during project preparation and mobilising financing processes.

Speaking at the workshop, Dr Charles Reeves,  Climate Resilient Infrastructure Delivery Facility (CRIDF) ‘s Team Leader, indicated that governments, project implementers and funders worldwide have attributed failure to take gender differences and inequalities into account as one of the reasons for unsuccessful projects.

CRIDF’s Dr Charles Reeves illustrating the importance of gender in the success of projects  

“Gender, Equality & Social Inclusion (GESI) is an integral part of the project preparation cycle. Understanding and addressing GESI considerations from project scoping through to design, implementation, operation and decommissioning is, therefore, fundamental to the sustainability of projects,” added Dr Reeves.


The workshop provided a platform for stakeholders to share experiences, challenges and lessons learned in addressing gender considerations in water projects, collectively find solutions in preparation of gender-sensitive water projects, deliberate on available funding opportunities for gender sensitive water projects as well as identify relevant tools for mainstreaming gender throughout the project development cycle.

Through the subsidiarity principle of SADC, Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) has been mandated to support the implementation of stakeholder engagement activities. These activities include gender mainstreaming as part of the SADC Transboundary Water Management program implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) with delegated authority from Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), Germany, and Department for International Development (DFID), UK, on behalf of the SADC Secretariat.

To see more from this event, click here

For more information, click on the links below:
Concept Note on “Gender Mainstreaming in the Water Sector Project Preparation and Financing Clinic”
Workshop Programme
Media Release