The Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA) has been awarded a grant of $1.7 million by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to set up an Africa-based Gender Technical Platform for Gender Responsive Malaria Advocacy and Policy.

Working in partnership with the Global Center for Gender Equality (GCfGE) in the US, the first component of the project aims to strengthen the gender integration capacity of a multidisciplinary team of CEGENSA’s affiliates in Malaria and gender advocacy and policy. This activity will culminate in the setting up of a Pan-African Gender Integration Platform (PA-GIP) for gender-responsive Malaria advocacy and policy advisory service for Malaria grantees in Africa.

Under the second component of the project, CEGENSA will take over the management of the Global Malaria and Gender Community of Practice (CoP). The final component will have CEGENSA coordinate the generation of key evidence and learning regarding the intersection of gender and malaria, with the focus on Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, and Senegal.

The project will be managed by Dr. Deborah Atobrah, Director of CEGENSA, as lead; Professor Delali Badasu, Regional Institute for Population Studies; Professor Irene Kretchy, School of Pharmacy; Dr. Benjamin Kwansa, Institute of African Studies; and Dr. Abena Kyere of CEGENSA. The grant will be hosted in the College of Humanities with oversight by the Provost, Professor Daniel Ofori and the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs (ASA), Professor Gordon Awandare.

It is expected that CEGENSA’s Pan-African and multidisciplinary perspective to gender integration will uncover new ways to deal with complex gender-related issues relating to Malaria and identify, contextualise and integrate gender-transformative approaches into Malaria advocacy and policy frameworks to advance both Malaria and gender equality outcomes.