Brussels, 19/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 19 May, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica announced that the European Union is to grant €19 million for international projects supporting gender equality.
Mimica made this announcement at the fourth global Women Deliver conference organised by the UN in Copenhagen (16-19 May) on women's and girls' rights, health and well-being.
“Gender equality and global development cannot be achieved until all forms of gender-based violence are ended. Today's EU contribution of €19 million will further support this aim”, Mimica stated.
The Commission's new financial contribution is aimed at strengthening women's and girls' empowerment in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The funding will co-finance three projects targeting respectively the sustainable end to child marriage, improving the sex ratio at birth and fighting female genital mutilation.
The three projects will be implemented with a contribution from the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) and UNESCO. The fight against child marriage was included in the global sustainable development goals under Objective 5 on gender equality. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)