UN Women Gender Responsive Budgeting Western Balkans 2020 - 2024
Contribution ID : SE-0-SE-6-12971This website displays open data about Swedish aid, which shows when, to whom and for what purpose Swedish aid is paid out, as well as what results it has produced. This page contains information about one of the contributions financed with Swedish aid.
The contribution is a support to UN Women for the project "Transformative Financing for Gender Equality towards more Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Western Balkans". The project is implemented by UN Women in the Western Balkans (mainly in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia and regional) with a total budget of 49 435 78...
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The contribution is a support to UN Women for the project "Transformative Financing for Gender Equality towards more Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Western Balkans". The project is implemented by UN Women in the Western Balkans (mainly in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia and regional) with a total budget of 49 435 784 SEK during the period 2020-2024. The overall goal of the project is to enhance systematic integration of gender equality at all stages of national and local policy making and budget processes in Western Balkan countries.
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Result
As of the end of 2022, national governments had increased their planned allocations for gender equality to the average of 6,77 % of the total budget (9 % in Albania, 4,54 % in BiH). Furthermore, both national and local governments have continued to increase the number of public programs that target and mainstream gender at the national and local level. In all targeted project countries, there is increased knowledge and capacity among targeted institutions at national and local levels to apply gender responsive budgeting and to integrate gender equality principles in public financing processes. The project has made a positive impact towards the improvement of several reforms, including related to PFM, which directly have resulted in improvements of peoples lives. It has contributed to the recognition by countries and institutions of the importance of gender responsive budgeting as an approach to mainstream gender. A process of institutionalising gender responsive budgeting in the project countries and territories has started. As an example, the project's work and partnerships with State Audit Institutions (SAIs) in the Western Balkan countries has led to an increased demand for gender responsive budgeting and put pressure on governments to act in accordance with gender responsive budgeting. Media stories about GRB have been published as a result of UN Women's training for media professionals. Regional The regional exchange and activities in the project have generated new knowledge, ideas, inspiration, and synergies among the participating institutions from the various countries. UN Womens role has been to facilitate these kinds of exchanges, to provide with additional capacity building and training, and push the gender equality agenda within PFM processes. The regional exchange and learning between the targeted project countries has also implied a sense of community among the countries in the Western Balkans; that a single country is not an isolated island. Kosovo for example has greatly benefited from the valuable experience and insights shared by their counterparts in North Macedonia, thanks to support from the regional component of the project. Through this exchange, municipalities in Kosovo have been able to draw from successful gender budgeting models and customize them to suit their specific local contexts. This collaborative learning approach not only saves time and resources but also allows municipalities to capitalize on the knowledge and experiences of others, rather than starting from scratch. Local officials have emphasized the significance of these collaborative forums, particularly in the practical application of Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) concepts, enabling them to create more inclusive, gender-responsive policies and services. This, in turn, has led to positive and enduring transformations within their communities. Albania Albania has managed to increase the percentage of public funds towards gender equality objectives throughout the years, and the GRB program has been instrumental in this regard, as it has provided capacity building, technical assistance, tools and methods for GRB. The legislative and institutional frameworks in Albania have been developed in terms of making gender responsive budgeting mandatory as a principle in all budgetary processes at central and local levels. This has led to more diverse budget programs that are inclusive for women in urban and rural areas. This achievement was made possible by engaging key stakeholders, starting with the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, gender mechanisms and role of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection as well as the proactive role of oversight bodies, including Parliament, the Supreme Audit Institution, Ombudsperson, and Media. As a way of institutionalising knowledge generation around GRB, the Albanian School of Public Administration has included training on GRB in the regular curriculum. In 2022, all 61 municipalities actively used key gender performance indicators in their budget planning and 33 concrete gender-responsive initiatives were budgeted. The Ministry of Finance and Economy in Albania enhanced all four standard budget instructions for budget users to include GRB as a part of the mandatory criteria for budget preparation. A Gender Budget Statement, providing a detailed gender analysis of budget allocations for specific sectors, was attached to the annual state budget for the first time. The Gender Budget Statement serves as a vital document, offering insights into how gender-related concerns are being addressed within the annual budget. Furthermore, it provides detailed data concerning the outputs and associated costs of these gender-focused interventions. The Gender Budget Statement was formulated and introduced by UN Women as part of GRB project. Bosnia and Hercegovina In Bosnia and Herzegovina, efforts have been continuously and simultaneously invested at all levels of government, including state, two entities and twelve cities and municipalities, on improving the legislative framework and increasing capacities of targeted institutions to implement gender responsive budgeting. Efforts have also been made towards strengthening the accountability mechanisms through the ongoing gender audits performed by three supreme audit institutions (SAIs) in BiH. Enhanced capacities of government officials resulted in an increase in the average annual budget allocations of gender equality. In 2022, 15 out of 19 targeted institutions allocated resources to gender equality objectives/programmes in their budget framework and use sex-disaggregated data on gender statistics to inform budget. There is improved compliance with GRB requirements in budget laws, as well as gender sensitive reporting on grants and transfers. UN Women contributed to these changes through intensive advocacy and advisory work in the area of gender responsive governance in BiH. Expert support and meetings with ministries and institutions during 2022 led to improved compliance with GRB requirements in budget laws, as well as gender sensitive reporting on grants and transfers. UN Women has signed MoUs with the three SAIs where these institutions aims to promoting gender responsive management and accountability of public resources. Kosovo Policy advancements have been made to ensure sustainable integration of gender responsive budgeting in the PFM system, such as the government approval of the concept documents on gender responsive budgeting, which will open the door to drafting the GRB act and amendment process of the pertaining legal framework. A Gender Budget Statement has been introduced to the Ministry of Finance and line ministries, and will be used as a tool to focus the attention on gender equality as an outcome of the budgetary processes. Sixteen municipalities have further dedicated budget allocations for specific gender programmes, as a result of UN Womens collaboration with them. These municipalities have signed MoUs with UN Women, showing further commitment to work on introduction and advancement of GRB. Furthermore, Ministry of Finance, the National Audit Institution, Ompudsperson Institution in Kosovo, and national media outlets increased their capacities in GRB as a result of UN Womens partnership and collaboration with them. Serbia The program has contributed to that gender responsive budgeting in Serbia is being institutionalized further, in line with the Budget System Law and the Gender Equality Law. As a result, there is an increase in the number of gender sensitive budget programmes and indicators that reflect needs of women, particularly those from multi discriminated groups, in the budgetary programmes at national and provincial level and in fourteen local government units across Serbia. As an example at the local level, there are now annual GRB plans adopted and GRB teams set up in nine local self government units. These changes have enabled women living in these targeted municipalities to benefit from improved targeted services, particularly in the area of rural development, economic empowerment (through subsidies), womens entrepreneurship and their involvement in tourism, access to sports, axxess to energy efficiency support measures, and enhanced participation of women in environmental protection.
Overall objective: Project countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, and Serbia) systematically integrate gender equality and become more transparent at all stages of national and local policymaking and budgeting processes. The project is expected to contribute to Public Finance Management reforms, budget transparency and openness about budgeting processes and disbursements, enabling the identification of disparities between pledges to gender equality and actual allocations. Furthermore, the project is expected to advance the implementation of national laws and strategies and international commitments on gender equality and womens empowerment, as well as to contribute to the EU integration process, and specifically to alignment with the EUs Gender Equality strategy and plans. In order to achieve the overall objective of the project, the project will work towards two principal outcomes and seven outputs: Outcome 1: By 2024, national and local governments apply gender responsive budgeting to integrate gender equality principles in public financing processes. Output 1.1: By 2024, Ministries of Finance, Line Ministries and National GE Machineries have knowledge and evidence to make informed budgetary allocation towards GE in line with national, and international commitments. Output 1.2: By 2024, local governments have the capacity to apply GRB tools in their plans and budgets. Output 1.3: By 2024, government officials share knowledge and best practices across the region on GRB. Outcome 2: By 2024 public oversight bodies, women including the disadvantaged, demand transparency and accountability of public policies and budgets to gender equality processes. Output 2.1: By 2024, Parliament and oversight bodies have capacities to monitor and advocate for gender responsive policies and budgets. Output 2.2: By 2024, Gender equality advocates are able to raise issues related to Financing for GE. Output 2.3: By 2024, Women, including the disadvantaged, are able to voice their needs and act as agents of change in planning and budgetary process. Output 2.4: By 2024, Oversight bodies are able to share knowledge and best practices across the region on GRB.
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