HOW DOES THE GTTF WORK?

The GTTF enables donors to channel resources through ear-marked or nonearmarked contributions: Earmarked contributions support thematic, regional or country level programmes/ projects in line with the thematic priorities of the Fund.

UNDP'S MISSION STATEMENT ON GENDER EQUALITY

Gender equality and womens empowerment are human rights that lie at the heart of development and the achievement of the MDGs. This is why gender equality and women's empowerment are deeply integrated within UNDP's four key areas of work: poverty reduction, democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and environment and sustainable development.

In 2008, through an earmarked contribution, the Government of Denmark and Finland supported the Global Gender Climate Alliance, a partnership alliance of 30 UN agencies and civil society organizations, which seeks to ensure that climate change policies and initiatives at the global, regional and national levels fully take account of gender dimensions and include womens voices in decision-making processes.

Non-earmarked contributions support global/regional and country-driven projects that fall within the thematic priorities of the Fund. These range from USD 50,000 to USD 500,000 and can last for up to two years. Successful projects are allocated through a competitive process and must meet the following criteria:
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Innovative: support initiatives characterized as 'pushing the frontiers,' addressing critical areas and potential breakthroughs Catalytic: leverage new ideas and have resource mobilization potential and a high likelihood of receiving support from the government or other partners for following up or scaling up Multi-disciplinary: address issues that are cross-sectoral, such as gender-based violence, which otherwise fall through the cracks or are not addressed holistically Other: include strong components of inter-agency coordination, advocacy, capacity development and knowledge management

GENDER THEMATIC TRUST FUND

The GTTF projects are subject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation. Donors are provided with an annual substantive and financial report, detailing the results of each funded project.

United Nations Development Programme Gender Team Bureau for Development Policy 304 East 45th Street New York, NY 100017, USA Tel: (+1) 212 906 6574 Fax: (+1) 212 906 5896 For more information regarding the GTTF: Blerta Cela, GTTF Manager E-mail: blerta.cela@undp.org Website: www.undp.org/women

United Nations Development Programme

WHAT IS THE GENDER THEMATIC TRUST FUND?

The GTTF was established to meet the challenges of attaining gender equality and achieving the MDGs. The fund provides donors with an efficient funding mechanism to channel non-core contributions towards achieving gender equality results in line with UNDP's Gender Equality Strategy 20082011. Since its inception, the GTTF has enabled programme countries to achieve impressive development results, breaking new ground in areas where gender issues are often un-addressed - such as climate change. The fund has catalyzed an enormous amount of interest and demand from across 166 UNDP countries. The GTTF has received nearly USD 10 million and has funded projects in over 65 countries. Over 70 percent of these projects have been in Least Developed Countries and Africa. Past contributors to the GTTF have included the Government of the Netherlands, Spain, Finland and Denmark.

Crisis Prevention and Recovery

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Promoting womens active participation in peace-building and recovery processes and programmes Rebuilding social structures and processes reflecting the needs, interests, and insights of women and men Addressing gender-based violence in conflict prevention and recovery settings, including supporting multi-sectoral response mechanisms that address the specific needs of women and girls and men and boys Promoting gender equality and womens empowerment in disasterrisk reduction plans and programmes

Figure 1. Allocations by Region

Africa 14% 31% 17% 17% 21% Asia and the Paci c Latin America and the Caribbean Arab States Europe and CIS

WHAT ARE THE THEMATIC PRIORITIES OF THE GTTF?

The GTTF supports initiatives that are aligned with each programmatic thematic area of UNDPs Gender Equality Strategy, namely:
"The GTTF enabled UNDP Myanmar to act as an agent of change for achieving gender equality in the crisis recovery process Nearly all stakeholders and partners agreed that the Myanmar response addressed gender issues better than previous responses to major crisis." The UNDP Response to Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, 2008, UNDP Myanmar
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Poverty Reduction and Achieving the MDGs

Strengthening national capacities to integrate gender equality in national development policies and budget frameworks Promoting womens economic empowerment, including womens economic opportunities, legal status, rights, voice, and their participation in the economy Integrating gender-responsive approaches into AIDS strategies and budgets and strengthening national capacities to address the particular needs of women and girls, in efforts to reach universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support

WHY CONTRIBUTE TO THE GTTF?

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Environment and and Sustainable Development

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The GTTF is an easy funding instrument with standardized trust fund procedures, providing for both earmarked and non-earmarked financial contributions that address gender equality gaps. Funding requests, channelled through UNDP country offices, are received as short-format proposals and acted upon on a fast-track basis. The GTTF has become one of the main vehicles within UNDP for financing innovative gender equality initiatives.The fund leverages UNDPs work on gender equality and womens empowerment across 166 countries, particularly at the policy level, bringing dedicated resources and services to address gender dimensions in each of the focus areas. As the manager of the Resident Coordinator system, reputation among governments as areliable partnerand within civil society as ahonest broker, UNDP is uniquely positioned to address a wide range of critical issues of concern to women through strategic partnerships at local, national, regional or global levels.

Enhancing capacities of government and CSOs to ensure that the needs of women and men are addressed in environment and energy policies, plans and budgets, including in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies. Increasing access of women-led businesses and womens organizations to environmental finance Collecting and promoting womens local knowledge to protect, sustain, and manage biodiversity and natural resources

In Zambia, the GTTF strengthened the capacities of HIV positive femaleheaded households to respond to the pandemic. Joining the support groups challenged my thinking. It helped me feel that I am a human being and a member of society. It also made one realize what we are capable of doing despite being HIV positive. HIV-positive woman and beneficiary of GTTF funded project in Zambia

Institutional Development and Accountability

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Strengthening capacities for gender mainstreaming through targeted trainings Improving coordination and joint programming by strengthening UN inter-agency gender theme groups at the country level Enhancing accountability mechanisms for achievement of gender equality in programming and gender parity Integrating gender equality into key global, regional and national policy and planning frameworks Improving development and sharing of knowledge for gender equality results via channels accessible to women and men

Democratic Governance
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Promoting womens political participation in all governance institutions Strengthening womens legal rights, including in the informal sector Assisting national partners to design public services that benefit poor women and men equitably Enhancing national capacities to reduce gender-based violence through multi-sectoral and multi-partnership approaches
In Mexico, with funding from the GTTF, the capacities of police and lawyers to implement the new gender equality and gender-based violence laws were enhanced.

The GTTF has supported the establishment and strengthening of interagency Gender Theme Groups in over 40 programme countries.