Govt urged to increase funding for initiatives to fight GBV

Harare, (New Ziana) – A senior government official urged authorities on Monday to increase funding for activities aimed at curbing gender based violence to ensure that the country eradicates the vice.

Legal advisor in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Fungai Chiware told legislators who were sitting as the parliamentary portfolio committee on Women Affairs that inadequate funding from government was affecting the ministry’s strategies being implemented to curb violence against women and girls.

She said at present, government is only funding 10 percent of the country’s budget towards curbing domestic violence, with most of the funding coming from international donors.

“There is need for increased domestic funding for GBV programming … most of the funding, approximately 80 percent coming from external donors. This must be a cause of concern. While external donor funding is welcome, it is not sustainable,” she said

“The government is meeting approximately 10 percent of (the) estimated US$80 million prevention and response budget while the gap is largely filled by external donors,” Chiware said.

She said inadequate government funding was hampering operations of key institutions such as the anti-domestic violence council.

“Inadequate funding has crippled key institutions such as the anti- domestic violence council which is mandated to spearhead the campaign against domestic violence,” she said.

Chiware said given the global decline in GBV funding, the funding landscape is not sustainable and hence the need for government to explore ways of increasing domestic funding for GBV programmes.

She said despite all efforts, the prevalence of violence against women and girls in Zimbabwe has reached pandemic levels.

“Gender Based Violence is unacceptably high and the prevalence has reached the pandemic stage. We are working on prevention and early detection of GBV while leveraging on available resources,” she said.

Permanent secretary for the ministry, Dr Mavis Sibanda told the committee that there was need for all stakeholders to collaborate efforts to fight GBV.

“The impact of GBV on our communities and the economy at large is vast and very painful. It’s something we have to look at and fight it with all our might,” she said.

New Ziana