Lucy Wu, NCSSM

Maendeleo ya Wanawake, 2015 Pan-African Womens NGOs Summit

Topic One: Increasing Effectiveness
Ineffectiveness is a problem that plagues many NGOs. NGOs face three major problems
in fulfilling their respective missions: communication, funding, and local understanding. NGOs
lacking in these three critical aspects often fail to achieve their goals. For example In fact, in
recent years, NGO credibility has experienced a crisis in confidence.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding NGO performance, the United Nations maintains
close relationships with many NGOs and relies on them to carry out a number of important tasks.
As such, the U.N. and World Bank provide funding to numerous grassroots and international
NGOs. [specific #s]. In addition, the U.N. provides a forum for NGOs to interact with both the
General Assembly and other NGOs by allowing NGOs to send representatives to Assembly
sessions upon consultative status accreditation. However, the U.N. notably lacks a set system to
evaluate performance and efficiency of NGOs. The lack of a reliable metric to evaluate NGO
performance makes it difficult to identify whether such a crisis is justified, and how to best target
ineffectiveness where it does exist.
The Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO) notes that this problem is
widespread and cannot be easily solved. However, MYWO believes that its successful rebirth
from its own troubled past gives it a unique perspective on NGO reform. From its beginnings as
a grassroots NGO, MYWO has expanded throughout Kenya and now receives significant
government funding. MYWO emphasizes representation at all levels, with elected boards of
representatives from each province, and a national headquarters that can coordinate local efforts
when needed. This model has seen marked success in Kenya, and MYWO would promote this
model for organizations elsewhere as well.
In addition, MYWO would favor a larger pan-African forum for womens NGOs. In the
past, National Councils of Women (NCWs) that unite many NGOs to achieve a common goal
have achieved remarkable results. MYWO would support the formation of similar issue-based
NCWs to encourage cooperation among organizations. In addition, MYWO supports the
formation of pan-African central headquarters to serve as a bastion from which women can start
other programs.
MYWO, from its humble beginnings to its current membership of 4 million, has always
advocated for women and youth, and looks forward to the opportunity to spread its message
beyond Kenyan borders to the rest of the African continent.

Lucy Wu, NCSSM

Maendeleo ya Wanawake, 2015 Pan-African Womens NGOs Summit

Beyond the obvious harm to the community, this failure can cause subtle damage by deterring
donors from giving money to an organization they perceive as corrupt or ineffective, as well as
diminishing community or political support.
However, the lack of a reliable metric to evaluate NGO performance makes it difficult to identify
whether such a crisis is justified, and how to best target ineffectiveness where it does exist.
As established in the Secretary-Generals report from the fifty-third session of the General
Assembly, NGOs provide local accountability; independent assessment of issues and problems;
[and] expertise and advise. This document goes on to establish that NGOs can apply to the
U.N.s NGO committee to participate in an expanded advisory capacity to the U.N. [how U.N.
evaluates NGOs?? However, the U.N. notably lacks a set system to evaluate performance and
efficiency of NGOs.]

Past UN Actions
Governments seeking to find reliable metric china, argentina
o High overhead percentage not a solution
Organizations that rate NGOs UN policy
o Given that NGOs often evaluate UN, this can be awkward
MYWO policy: elected board, held accountable to government because it gets funding from
government,
Proposed Solutions:
Council of NGOs to cooperate, peer accountability
Works Cited
"Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization." Maendeleo Ya Wanawake. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
Nov. 2015.

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/docs/53/plenary/a53-170.htm