USAID Launches “GROW” To Improve Welfare Of Women

USAID has announced the launch of a new USAID commitment to tackling urgent challenges women are facing in food and water systems, including climate change tagged Generating Resilience and Opportunities for Women (GROW),

The project will also unlock opportunities for women to advance economically so as to ultimately benefit their families, communities, and societies at large through improved food security, resilience, and economic growth.

USAID Administrator, Samantha Power, who disclosed this, said subject to the availability of funds and Congressional notification, GROW will specifically focus on women’s empowerment in the food and water sectors and invest up to three hundred and thirty five million dollars through the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative led by USAID and through USAID’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, WASH and Adaptation activities.

According to Samantha, this commitment will enable USAID 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.

According to him, in close collaboration with country governments, implementing partners, and local communities, GROW will advance women’s empowerment across three priority areas which include increasing women producers’ 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 as well, drive the humanitarian system to prioritize addressing the unique needs of women and girls affected by climate and food-security crises.

It is believed that across these three priorities, GROW will address the discriminatory social norms and rules that create and reinforce gender inequalities across food and water systems.

Samantha stated that GROW aligns with USAID’s goal to double investments in gender equality by 2023 and build on the Agency’s recently updated Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy, which outlines the vision for its work to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment around the world.