RURAL WOMEN AND MDGs 1 AND 3: GHANA''S SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES

Executive Summary

In advancing the global policy framework for gender equality, the 56th CSW provides a platform for sharing experiences, lessons learnt and good practices at national levels. In response to this call, Ghana organizes its side event with the theme: ""Rural women and MDGs 1 and 3: Ghana''s successes and challenges"". This event shares information on the status of rural women empowerment and poverty and hunger eradication in line with MDGs 1 and 3 in Ghana. It present issues, challenges and opportunities for rural women in performing their roles in agriculture as decent work, access to productive resources, and use of appropriate technology in this era of climate change vulnerability.

The pillars for Ghana''s success focus on the status of rural women livelihoods, reproductive health, peace and security and governance in relation to policy and institutional structures in place. Ghana's policy, strategic action plans and progress made on the MDGs by the various sectors of its economy is reviewed, emphasizing successes and challenges in mainstreaming gender at all stages of developmental activities of the Government of Ghana. Successful programs and plan of actions for mainstreaming gender are in place. These policy and action plans provide frameworks that ensure effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programs that empower rural women in achieving the goal of eradicating extreme hunger and poverty in Ghana.

The use of programs and or projects that works through the gender responsive institutions in Ghana explains the success in achieving a 28% reduction in the poverty levels of Ghanaians. Grassroots institutions for social networking have been active in the mobilization of rural women voices, providing them with a space to participate in policy planning and its implementation.

Key successes in the promotion of an improved appropriate fish processing technology and the development of a gender strategy on drought, desertification and early warning systems are highlighted. Challenges however exist in the enforcement and implementation ofpolicies that ensures gender mainstreaming, lack of gender smart monitoring indicators and the absence of gender disaggregated data on baseline information for developing policy and action plans, progress reporting and resource allocations. Capacity building in the area of gender data and project implementation for institutions and the empowerment of rural women in the area of access to resources and a voice in the public sphere is advocated.