Godmothers call for UK Government to act on women’s poverty

21/02/2011 13:56:00

More than 150 VSO “Godmothers” gathered at the Houses of Parliament today (16 Feb) to voice their concern over the lack of funding for the newly established UN Women agency and to urge the UK Government to urgently commit substantial funding.

VSO’s Godmothers is a group of men and women who are watching over the newly operational UN Women agency seeking to ensure it delivers on reducing global poverty and receives the funding it needs.

International development organisation, VSO UK, is warning that UN Women is at risk of faltering just a month after opening due to a lack of funding committed from member governments, including the UK Government.

VSO Chief Executive Officer Marg Mayne said the UK Government needed to urgently outline its funding for UN Women to help secure the future of the organisation.
 
“By delivering real rights to women in the developing world, ending violence against women and providing them with economic and educational opportunities, UN Women will be able to help lift millions of women and girls out of poverty.  But we fear that UN Women is at risk of faltering before it has even started with some UN member states including the UK Government yet to outline a funding commitment.

“In order for UN Women to plan its strategy and scale up the programming for women in the poorest of communities, it must receive a substantial funding commitment. We are asking the Government to commit just 0.2 per cent of its overseas development assistance budget, just £21 million, to providing core funding to UN Women.”

VSO has been lobbying for a new UN women’s agency for four years – with the four small UN agencies that previously represented women, poorly funded and lacking the power to influence governments or take part in key global decision-making bodies.

Parliamentarians have also thrown their weight behind the Godmothers’ Campaign and will deliver a video message of support at the Mass Lobby. They include: Baroness Hilary Armstrong, Baroness Margaret Prosser, Malcolm Bruce MP, Harriet Harman MP, Jeremy Lefroy MP, Michael McCann MP, Alison McGovern MP, Eleanor Laing MP, Anas Sarwar MP and Pauline Latham MP. 

• Among women aged between 15 and 44, acts of violence cause more death and disability than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined.

• Despite doing two-thirds of the work, women earn just 10 per cent of the world’s income. Evidence shows that when women earn and manage their own money they are more likely than men to spend it on educating and feeding their children.

• Rural women already play a major role in agriculture but receive less than one per cent of the credit. If they had the same access as men to resources such as land, seed and fertiliser, agricultural productivity would increase by 20 per cent.

• Just 19.1 per cent of the world’s parliamentary seats are held by women. Research shows that peace agreements and post-conflict reconstruction do better when women are involved, and that there is less corruption when women are more active in politics.

Editor's notes

VSO Contact: Rachel Trayner on rachel.trayner@vso.org.uk, 0208 780 7265, 07738982122.

UN Women will focus on:

Watch the Parliamentarians’ video address to VSO Godmothers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Aqhqhad35E

VSO
VSO is an international development charity that works through volunteers. Since 1958 more than 44,000 volunteers have worked in more than 120 countries. Today there are over 1600 international volunteers working in 42 countries around the world. VSO has been campaigning for the past four years for the establishment of a new UN women’s agency that was properly funded and had the power to deliver real change for women. www.vso.org.uk

Godmothers
The Godmothers is a group of men and women who think women everywhere deserve a chance. Together they aim to watch over UN Women, help keep it on track and protect it from people who’d like to see it fail - everything a good godmother would do. By making sure UN Women gets the powers and funding it needs, it can make life better for millions of women worldwide. www.thegodmothers.org.uk

UN Women
UN Women opened its doors on the 1st of January. It is a new body focused solely on women and will ensure senior UN Women representatives sit on key UN and other global decision-making bodies. It will fund programmes and be able to hold governments to account to address the severe inequalities, violence and lack of opportunities women face in the developing world.  It will replace four existing UN women’s bodies that have received limited funding and powers to affect change. It will focus on: Expanding women’s voice, leadership and participation; Ending violence against women; Strengthening implementation of the women, peace and security agenda; Enhancing women’s economic empowerment; Making gender equality priorities central to national, local and sectoral planning and budgeting. www.unwomen.org