Advancing Policies to Improve the Lives of Girls and Young Women Globally

In 2020, Rise Up provided more than $600,000 in direct funding to groups and leaders working to advance laws, programs, and funding for women and girls. About 50,000 people engaged in programming by these organizations following this grant funding. A few examples of some of the programs are:

• In Kenya, advocacy by leaders and groups supported by Rise Up resulted in guaranteed access to school for over 65,000 girls through implementation of the Return to School policy in all schools in Kajiado County. 
• Improving the safety of over 700,000 adolescent girls in Malawi by developing systems for reporting and addressing sexual violence.
• In Mexico, a national program to prevent and address adolescent suicide supported as many as 787,000 adolescents in San Luis Potosí State.

With the implementation of these and additional advocacy projects in the future, Rise Up expects to see many more policies passed to improve equity, social justice and education for women and girls. The program’s work to develop the next generation of girl and women leaders remains a key strategy, with 390 youth and adult leaders trained in 2020, including:

• 58 new Rise Up Leaders were trained in South Africa, India, and Mexico, using Rise Up’s award-winning curriculum, country-based advocacy experts, and master trainer methodology. Each leader received more than 70 hours of advocacy training from Rise Up.
• 20 Rise Up leaders in California had the opportunity to convene and strengthen their capacity in specific areas that they identified as important to building their organizations and advancing their ability to create and sustain large-scale change.
• 275 leaders and 37 adult allies were trained in Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria and Brazil, creating a pipeline of girl leaders who will raise their voices to advocate for social justice, education, opportunity, and equity in their countries. Rise Up and partners conducted trainings in girls’ rights, leadership skills, advocacy, and life skills. These girls are already implementing projects to help their communities respond to COVID-19, end the harmful traditional practice of female genital mutilation, reduce girls’ dropout rates from school, and speak out for their rights.

Learn more about Rise Up and its Gender Equity Initiative here.