Our programmes · Strategic Plan 2023–2028
Six fields of work, carried by one network
RFLD connects the laws African women have won to the communities that make them real. The work runs through four flagship programmes and twelve open-data tools, delivered by 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 countries.
Our model
Four functions that most organisations keep apart
Thirteen years of organising taught us that change lasts when it happens at every level at once. Each function feeds the next, so a grant to one programme strengthens the whole network.
Open data
The DƆNÙESÈ Data Center and eleven further tools, open and citable, in French and English.
Policy hubs
Continental tools on the Maputo Protocol, ACDEG, AU mechanisms and West African legislation.
Direct programmes
PAWELE, BRAVE, Climate Justice, Health in Francophone Africa and Ending FGM, delivered with members.
Re-granting
Money moved to the women doing the work through the WAFF Fund, the Africa Grant Portfolio and urgent support for defenders.
Data informs the hubs. The hubs shape the programmes. Programmes produce new evidence, and re-granting moves resources to the organisations doing the work.
Six fields of intervention
Where African law meets African communities
Sexual and reproductive health and rights
Women organising for bodily autonomy, carrying Articles 2, 4, 5 and 14 of the Maputo Protocol into everyday community life.
BRAVE programmeCivic space
Keeping civic space open on the street, in the courtroom and online, alongside the women defenders who use it.
Civic space and human rightsWomen defenders, peace and security
Relocation, legal accompaniment, secure communications and urgent response, plus Women, Peace and Security work.
Rapid response and WPSEconomic and climate justice
African women already hold the land, the seeds and the markets. We back their leadership with gender-responsive budgets, land rights and adaptation.
Climate Justice programmeWomen in power
Continuing the lineage of women’s political leadership, with ACDEG and West African legislative tracking as working tools.
PAWELE programmeEnding FGM and child marriage
Survivor-centred, community-led abandonment, led by daughters, mothers, elders and survivors choosing a new norm.
Community dialogue and policyField briefs for funders cover Rights and Representation, Governance and Civic Space, Economic Justice and Climate, Ending Harmful Practices, and Peace and Security. Read the briefs
Flagship programmes
Rooted in communities, continental in reach
Women’s political leadership. Policy literacy, governance skills and electoral preparation for the next generation of women leaders.
Sexual and reproductive health and rights. Women community leaders organised to defend every woman’s right to decide about her own body.
Women leading adaptation. Resources for women’s leadership in adaptation, and advocacy for climate finance that reaches women’s organisations.
Health in Francophone Africa. Maternal health, malaria and SRHR services and data designed with and for francophone communities.
- A young continent, with young women leading. About 60 per cent of Africans are under 25. PAWELE puts young women leaders where decisions are made.
- The legal commitments already exist. States have signed the Maputo Protocol, ACDEG and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality. Our hubs turn signatures into measurable progress.
- Women already lead climate adaptation. Directing climate finance to their organisations is one of the fastest ways to build resilience.
- Francophone Africa is ready for investment. Global funding often arrives in English. With French-language data, programmes and partners in place, RFLD can put new resources to work quickly.
Twelve tools, free for everyone
Public goods, verified and citable
Downloadable, with no login and no fee.
Peace and security
Women at the centre of African peace
Women have always made peace in markets, villages and courtrooms. We support the African Peace and Security Architecture and the women leading peace processes in the Sahel, the Lake Chad basin and the Liptako-Gourma zone.
- AU Peace and Security Council: bringing women’s experience into continental decisions.
- ECOWAS Centre for Gender and Development: supporting the regional gender and peace agenda.
- Sahel regional dialogue: women building peace across borders.
- Early warning: open governance and civic-space data through the ACDEG Hub and the Data Center.
African instruments, put to work
Commitments African states have already made
Articles 9, 10 and 11 on civic freedoms, and Article 62 on state reporting
The continent’s women’s rights treaty, tracked state by state
A public commitment by African Heads of State to gender equality
Democratic norms African states adopted, monitored by civil society
Aspiration 6 places women and youth at the heart of the continent’s future
Indicators on women in conflict and peace that states report against
Our work contributes to SDGs 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 and 17, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
What your investment would make possible
Every programme here is running today
| Area | Where we are today | With your investment |
|---|---|---|
| WAFF Fund re-granting | Grants in 15 West African countries through four windows, with Urgent Action decided within 5 business days. | A regular grant cycle reaching many more small and rural organisations, with accompaniment built in. |
| Flagship programmes | PAWELE, BRAVE, Climate Justice and Health running with members, anchored in the Maputo Protocol and the ACDEG. | Multi-year cohorts in more countries, and follow-up that turns training into leadership positions held. |
| Open data | Twelve open tools covering 35+ countries in French and English. | Regular updates, new country data and training so governments and journalists use the evidence. |
| Defender protection | Urgent Action grants, referral to specialist partners and 110+ defenders trained in digital resilience in 2026. | A standing rapid-response fund able to act within days, with relocation, legal and digital-safety support. |
Multi-year support for one field of work, with a shared results framework.
Flexible re-granting to grassroots organisations in 15 West African countries.
The Strategic Plan 2023–2028 across all six fields.
Accountable
To our members, and open to our funders
RFLD is registered as an International Organisation in Senegal and as a non-governmental organisation in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and The Gambia, with headquarters in Accra.
Three consecutive unqualified external audits under ISA
NGOsource 501(c)(3) equivalency determination
A survivor-centred PSEAH policy protecting staff, grantees and communities
ACHPR Observer Status N°553 and membership of the Support Group of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders (Resolution 602)
Civil society Co-Chair of the Advisory Council
Key documents
The commitments and evidence behind our programmes
Each programme on this page rests on a public commitment or a body of evidence. These are the documents funders and partners ask for most often.
RFLD's pledge for 2025 to 2035, with links to where each commitment is being delivered
The role of women human rights defenders in our Strategic Plan and our work on governance, civic space and protection
Our experience in gender justice and human rights in Francophone Africa
Stories of women who survived violence in West Africa, told under changed names
Leadership, afroféminisme et solidarité, a free certified course of the RFLD Francophone Academy
What does RFLD do?
RFLD is a pan-African network of 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 African countries. It runs open data, policy hubs, re-granting and direct programmes as one model, across six fields anchored in the Maputo Protocol and the ACDEG.
What are the flagship programmes?
PAWELE (women’s political leadership), BRAVE (SRHR), Climate Justice, and Health in Francophone Africa, covering maternal health, malaria and SRHR.
Where does RFLD work?
Through members in more than 35 African countries, with six offices: Accra (headquarters), Porto-Novo, Dakar, Banjul, Lagos and Igolo.
How is RFLD held accountable?
Three consecutive unqualified external audits, 79.8% of 2025 spending reaching the field, NGOsource equivalency, a Candid Seal of Transparency and ACHPR Observer Status N°553.
How can a funder partner with RFLD?
Through a thematic partnership from US$500,000, core support to WAFF from US$2 million, or a Strategic Plan partnership of US$5 million and above. Contact John GBENAGNON at gbenagnon.john@rflgd.org.
Put resources where change happens
A partnership, a programme grant or a gift to the WAFF Fund
For funders and partnersPour les bailleurs et les partenaires
Fund the women who defend rights in Africa, nowFinancez maintenant les femmes qui défendent les droits en Afrique
Aid to women’s organisations is falling. RFLD moves funding fast to women-led organisations and defenders, in French and English, through a network of 1,143 member organisations in more than 35 African countries.L’aide aux organisations de femmes recule. Le RFLD achemine vite les financements vers les organisations de femmes et les défenseures, en français et en anglais, grâce à un réseau de 1 143 organisations membres dans plus de 35 pays africains.
RFLD currently serves as Co-Chair of the SEA-T Programme Advisory Council, mandated to ensure the programme’s direction, priorities, and resources are meaningfully aligned with the visions of African women-led civil society. The SEA-T Programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.Le RFLD assure actuellement la coprésidence du Conseil consultatif du programme SEA-T, chargé de veiller à ce que l’orientation, les priorités et les ressources du programme soient réellement alignées sur les visions de la société civile africaine portée par les femmes. Le programme SEA-T est financé par le ministère fédéral allemand de la Coopération économique et du Développement (BMZ) et mis en œuvre par la Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. See the partnershipVoir le partenariat
- 1,143member organisationsorganisations membres
- 35+African countriespays africains
- N°553ACHPR observer statusstatut d’observateur CADHP
- CandidSeal of Transparency 2025Sceau de transparence 2025
DonateFaire un don Partner with RFLDDevenir partenaire See our financialsVoir nos états financiers