The world will be marking 16 days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence from November 25th to December 10th 2004. Once again, women's organisations and human rights activists all over the world will come together in their various communities for the following activities:

· Raising awareness on all forms of gender-based violence against women as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international level.
· Strengthening local work around violence against women.
· Demonstrating the solidarity of women both locally and internationally to organise against violence against women.
· Calling on Governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women.

The theme for this year’s campaign is, “For the Health of Women, For the Health of the World: No more Violence”. In line with this, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) has again provided grants to African women’s organisations working to eliminate violence against women. AWDF grants will support activities such as printing of posters, tee shirts, organizing radio shows, one-day seminars, marches, rallies etc. Last year, the AWDF awarded a total of USD$15,000 in grants to 17 women’s organisations in Africa to celebrate the 16 Days Campaign. In 2004, AWDF will award USD $15,000 to 17 organisations, namely:

· Association pour la Paix et la Solidarite – Burkina Faso
· Association pour le progres et la Defense des Droits des Femmes (APDF) – Mali
· BAOBAB for Women’s Human Rights – Nigeria
· Foundation for Female Photojournlists – Ghana
· International Action for Development Initiatives – Ghana
· Kaabong Women’s Group – Uganda
· Nana Yaa Memorial Trust for Good Quality Maternity Service – Ghana
· S.O.S Femmes Bibliotheque des Femmes - Mauritius
· Women in Law and Development in Africa (WILDAF) – Ghana
· Women Writers of Nigeria (WRITA) - Nigeria
· Women’s Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) – Nigeria
· Uganda Health Empowerment Project (UHEP) – Uganda
· Akina Mama Wa Afrika – Uganda
· Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET) – Uganda
· ISIS-WICCE - Uganda
· International Association for the Advancement of Women - Ghana

The AWDF is the first autonomous Africa-wide fundraising and grant-making organisation set up to provide grants to African women’s organisations. The vision of the AWDF is for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women’s human rights. The mission is to mobilize financial resources to support local, national and regional initiatives led by women, leading to the achievement of this vision. AWDF currently supports 185 African women’s organisations in 32 countries with grants and capacity building.

For further enquires, please contact: Ms Vera Doku, Communications Officer, the African Women’s Development Fund. Tel: 021 - 780476/7 Fax: 021- 782502.