Dear Esteemed Partners,
As we enter 2026, I write to you with both profound gratitude and urgent purpose. We have reached the midpoint of our transformative journey—with exactly two years remaining in the RFLD Strategic Plan 2023-2028.
Where We Stand
Thanks to your generous support from 2023-2025, RFLD has achieved remarkable milestones. We’ve spent three years building:
Pan-African network
Trusted partnerships with 450+ grassroots organizations
Credible data systems cited by African Report
Emergency response protocols protecting thousands
Training curricula proven to create leaders
12,000+ women and girls trained as leaders—transitioning from beneficiaries to program implementers
2,000+ women human rights defenders protected through emergency response networks
12 SRHR legal reforms influenced across the continent
Advocacy and Capacity building engaging health actors, teachers, traditional and religious leaders, state actors, Members of Parliament, local elected officials, and law enforcement actors.
African governments now officially cite RFLD as a primary gender data source
103+ civil society organizations strengthened through sub-granting and capacity building
RFLD invited by the African Union ACHPR Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders to be part Member of its Working Group.
The foundation is solid. The challenge now is acceleration. Our 7 Strategic Pillars: Integrated Impact Across Africa
The final two years of our strategic plan focus on deepening and scaling impact across our seven interconnected programmatic pillars, each addressing critical barriers facing African women:
PILLAR 1: Rights & Representation : Advocating for the Maputo Protocol implementation, ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), bodily autonomy, and increasing women’s leadership in governance from local councils to national parliaments.
PILLAR 2: Civic Space & Democracy: Defending civil liberties in an era of shrinking civic space, protecting women activists facing persecution, and ensuring inclusive, safe electoral processes.
PILLAR 3: Economic Power & Climate Justice: Addressing the intersection of economic marginalization and environmental vulnerability, promoting women’s land rights, entrepreneurship, and green resilience strategies.
PILLAR 4: Participatory Governance & Media: Building civil society capacity for budget monitoring, social accountability, and training journalists on gender-sensitive reporting to shape public narratives.
PILLAR 5: Human Rights Protection: Documenting violations, seeking justice through regional bodies like ACHPR, and providing emergency shelter, legal aid, and rapid response assistance for Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) facing threats.
PILLAR 6: Peace & Security: Operationalizing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda by training women mediators, supporting meaningful participation in peacebuilding processes, and assisting survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).
PILLAR 7: Elimination of Harmful Practices: Community-led campaigns to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), child marriage, and widowhood rites, replacing them with empowering rites of passage.
Our Core Programming: How Your Funds Create Change
1. Sub-Granting & Capacity Strengthening
As a trusted intermediary organization, RFLD channels donor resources to grassroots civil society organizations across 55 African countries—organizations too small to access international funding directly but absolutely critical to local change.
Your investment enables:
Financial support to local CSOs through our West Africa Francophone Feminist Fund (WAFFF)
Financial Support to local CSOs through our Africa Funding Portfolio
Capacity strengthening activities including training, coaching, technical assistance, mentoring, and knowledge sharing
Systems strengthening to improve financial management, governance, and monitoring & evaluation capabilities
Network building connecting grassroots organizations across regions for peer learning and collaboration
2. Advocacy & Evidence-Based Research
Our Data Center and research publications provide the evidence base that transforms advocacy from emotional appeals to irrefutable demands.
Your investment creates:
Continental gender data tracking violence, political participation, economic indicators, and health outcomes across 55 countries
Legislative analysis monitoring laws affecting women’s rights in real-time
Research reports used by lawyers in court, mayors in budget proposals, and parliamentarians in drafting legislation
Policy briefs informing government decision-making and regional policy frameworks
3. Combating Gender-Based Violence (GBV) & Sexual Violence
One in three women worldwide experiences sexual or gender-based violence. The psychological and physical impacts are devastating—not just for victims but for families, communities, and entire societies. Such violence reduces women’s participation in public life, increases healthcare costs, and perpetuates cycles of trauma.
Your investment provides:
Emergency shelter and safe houses for GBV survivors
Legal aid to prosecute perpetrators and secure justice
Psychosocial counseling and trauma support services
Community education campaigns challenging harmful norms
Training for law enforcement on handling GBV cases with victim sensitivity
4. Safe Abortion Access & Maternal Health
Maternal mortality is not fate—it’s policy failure. When women cannot access safe reproductive healthcare, including safe abortion services, they die from entirely preventable causes.
Your investment ensures:
Training for midwives and health workers in clinical skills, legal rights, and advocacy
Community health education on maternal health, family planning, and reproductive rights
Advocacy for policy reform expanding access to comprehensive SRHR services
Safe spaces like our Maternal Health Hub and EmpowerHer Health Hub providing Maternal and SRHR information
Leadership development transforming health workers into political advocates who change systems
5. Ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
FGM is a harmful practice affecting millions of girls and women, causing severe physical and psychological trauma. Eradicating this practice requires deep community engagement—not external imposition.
Your investment supports:
Community dialogue engaging traditional and religious leaders as allies in norm change
Alternative rites of passage celebrating girls and women without causing harm
Education campaigns in schools and community centers
Medical and psychosocial support for FGM survivors
Legal advocacy for stronger anti-FGM legislation and enforcement
6. Supporting Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs)
Women’s rights defenders face growing pressure, both offline and online, with direct implications for their safety and ability to advocate. In 2024 alone, threats against WHRDs increased by 31% in our monitored regions.
Your investment provides:
Emergency rapid response for defenders fleeing immediate danger (shelter, transport, phone credit)
Legal defense for defenders facing arrest or prosecution for peaceful activism
Digital security training protecting against online harassment and surveillance
Psychosocial support for trauma experienced by defenders under threat
Advocacy with regional bodies like ACHPR’s Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
7. Women’s Entrepreneurship & Economic Justice
Women’s entrepreneurship is a powerful driver of socio-economic growth and sustainable development. Women entrepreneurs often reinvest profits in families and communities, contributing to local employment and strengthening investment climates.
Yet women in low- and middle-income African countries face significant barriers:
Limited access to formal markets and finance
Lack of land ownership rights (only 12% of women own land in countries like Senegal)
Socio-cultural norms restricting participation in formal economy
Limited business management training and networks
Your investment enables:
Microloans and seed funding for women entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses
Business management training in financial literacy, marketing, and operations
Land rights advocacy securing women’s ownership and inheritance rights
Cooperative formation allowing women to pool resources and access larger markets
Mentorship programs connecting successful entrepreneurs with emerging leaders
8. Women, Peace & Security
The world is witnessing a rise in conflicts, with women and girls disproportionately affected. In 2024, cases of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) increased by 25%, with women and girls accounting for 92% of victims.
Yet peace is more likely to succeed when women are involved as mediators, first responders, and negotiators.
Your investment supports:
Training women as mediators and peace negotiators
Meaningful participation in formal and informal peace discussions and decision-making
Support for CRSV survivors including medical care, psychosocial counseling, and legal assistance
Transitional justice advocacy ensuring gender justice in post-conflict settings
Community early warning systems led by women to prevent violence
Total Strategic Funding Need (2026-2028): $15 Million
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Operating across 55 African countries
ACHPR Observer Status | US 501(c)(3) Equivalent (NGOsource Certified)
