The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the Generating Resilience and Opportunities for Women (GROW) initiative.
GROW is a new USAID commitment to address the pressing issues that women are facing in the food and water systems, including climate change, while opening doors for women to advance economically, ultimately benefiting their families, communities, and societies as a whole through increased food security, resilience, and economic growth.
According to a statement from the organization, Samantha Power, Administrator of USAID, made the news on Monday.
GROW will invest up to $335 million through the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative, led by USAID, and through USAID’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), with a focus on empowering women in the food and water sectors. This is contingent on funding availability and Congressional notification.
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This commitment will enable USAID to deepen and scale its programming to reach, benefit, and empower more women around the world as they, their families, and their communities face worsening climate-driven and food security crises.
In close collaboration with country governments, implementing partners, and local communities, GROW will advance women’s empowerment across three priority areas: increase women’s productivity and resilience to shocks; support women to fully participate in and benefit from more diversified and climate-resilient economic opportunities in food and water systems – including in value chains beyond production; and lastly, drive the humanitarian system to prioritize addressing the unique needs of women and girls affected by climate and food-security crises.
Across these three priorities, GROW will address the discriminatory social norms and rules that create and reinforce gender inequalities across food and water systems.
Story adapted from Nigerian Tribune
