Women and girls in Nigeria continue to face violence, discrimination, and harmful social norms. Through the LEAP Project, UN Women works with traditional and religious leaders, institutions, and communities to promote positive social change, strengthen protection mechanisms, and advance the rights of women and girls. The stories in this compendium highlight the power of local leadership and collective action to create safer and more inclusive communities.

UN Women and the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians invite proposals for a symposium on religion, gender-based violence and women’s (in)security in Africa. The event, to be held in Ghana from 9 to 13 November 2026, will explore African feminist and womanist approaches to gender justice, women’s leadership and peacebuilding. Proposals in English, French or Portuguese must be submitted by 20 August 2026.

The inaugural edition of UN Women West and Central Africa’s Quarterly Newsletter explores how evidence, partnerships and collective action are helping advance gender equality across the region.

The second edition of the 2026 UN Women Nigeria Newsletter highlights a quarter marked by strategic partnerships, institutional reform and innovation. From strengthening gender-responsive governance and supporting women’s political participation ahead of the 2027 elections to advancing women’s economic empowerment and climate resilience, the edition showcases efforts to create lasting opportunities for women and girls across Nigeria.

The first edition of the 2026 UN Women Nigeria Newsletter highlights key efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment across Nigeria during the first quarter of the year. From mobilizing traditional and cultural leaders to prevent gender-based violence to advancing advocacy during International Women’s Day under the theme“Rights, Justice and Action for All Women and Girls,” the newsletter showcases how partnerships and collective action are driving change.

The Cost of Silence: A Diagnostic on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) examines the growing threat of digital violence against women and girls in Kenya and its implications for gender equality, human rights and inclusive digital transformation. Commissioned by UN Women Kenya under the DigiKen Programme, the study draws on primary research and secondary evidence to explore the forms, drivers and impacts of TFGBV, including online harassment, cyberstalking, non-consensual intimate image sharing, sextortion and AI-enabled abuse. The report highlights critical gaps in legal, policy and institutional responses and demonstrates how TFGBV limits women's participation in the digital economy, leadership and public life. It presents evidence-based recommendations to strengthen legislation, improve platform accountability, enhance survivor-centred services and build safer, more inclusive digital spaces. The findings provide an important foundation for policy reform, advocacy and programming to prevent and respond to TFGBV in Kenya.

This compendium comprises five country reports that examine milestones, achievements, challenges, and lessons in gender statistics in five countries in East and southern Africa from an uptake and use perspective. It is informed by a series of in-depth engagements and consultations with state and non-state actors notably the respective national statistics offices and line ministries in Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. The study also provides insights as collected from police service, public sector agencies, civil society organizations, academia, and development partners in these countries and insights from information materials including public policies and strategies, and background resources. The study organizes its findings by developments in gender data; developments in the use of gender data; good and promising practices in gender data use; challenges in data use and any mitigations to these challenges; and prospects for gender data uptake and use in these countries.

Gender Statistics in Financial Inclusion: Toolkit and Guidelines for Practitioners provides a practical framework for measuring financial inclusion through a gender lens. Developed by UN Women and SADC, the toolkit supports policymakers, statisticians, financial institutions, and development partners to collect, analyse, and use sex-disaggregated data for evidence-based decision-making. It offers harmonized indicators, measurement protocols, and implementation guidance to advance women’s economic empowerment, reduce inequalities, and strengthen inclusive financial systems across the SADC region.

Rwanda has demonstrated thought leadership in the use of gender data in its efforts to meet national priorities and track and report on regional as well as international targets including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This brief is aimed sharing good and promising practices from Rwanda in the development and use of gender data for policy- and decision-making as part of south-south learning.

Following CSW70, UN Women West and Central Africa launched a Friendraising initiative to call on its allies to turn collective momentum into concrete action. At a time when the rights of women and girls are facing growing pushback, the region can rely on a powerful asset: a coalition of committed actors — from civil society, the media, academia and the private sector — able to advance shared advocacy, strengthen synergies and support Member States’ priorities.

Rwanda's Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), in partnership with UN Women, has launched the Revised National Gender Policy (RNGP) 2021, marking a decisive shift from gender mainstreaming to gender transformation. Building on the achievements of the 2010 policy and aligned with Vision 2050, the National Strategy for Transformation (NST-2), and SDG 5, the RNGP moves beyond numerical representation to ensuring that both women and men hold the agency, resources, and influential capacity to shape Rwanda's national development. Anchored in eight guiding principles including human rights, social justice, inclusivity, accountability, and positive masculinity the policy sets four strategic priorities: Economic Justice, Social Transformation, Legal Empowerment, and Governance & Power Sharing. These priorities are designed to dismantle the structural, cultural, and legal barriers that continue to hinder equitable participation across all sectors of Rwandan society.

Rwanda's Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), in partnership with UN Women and the African Development Bank's Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, has launched a landmark national strategy to mobilize USD 75 million in financing for women entrepreneurs by 2029. Grounded in Rwanda's Vision 2050 and the National Strategy for Transformation (NST-2), the strategy targets women-led businesses across six high-growth sectors: Agriculture, Clean Energy, ICT, Trade, Manufacturing, and Housing with a deliberate focus on reaching rural and underserved women in every district of the country.

The Ethiopia Gender Snapshot 2025 highlights progress in maternal health, education, and women’s political participation, supported by strong national commitments. However, significant challenges persist, including widespread poverty, limited access to formal employment and social protection, and high levels of gender-based violence. Structural inequalities, unpaid care burdens, and gaps in secondary education continue to disadvantage women, while climate change and the digital divide exacerbate vulnerabilities, requiring targeted policy action.

A step-by-step guide for setting up gender-focused coordination groups across Ethiopia's humanitarian regions, ensuring women's needs are central to emergency response. It defines roles, membership, reporting, and accountability — giving local women's organizations a formal voice in decisions that affect them.

Ebola outbreak in Central Africa: UN Women WCARO strengthens community preparedness, protection and resilience in West and Central Africa As the Ebola outbreak continues to spread across parts of Central Africa, UN Women West and Central Africa is working with governments, women-led organizations and communities to strengthen preparedness, protection and resilience. Recognizing that women and girls are often on the frontlines of health emergencies, the organization is advancing gender-responsive approaches to prevention, response and recovery efforts across the region.

The UN Women East and Southern Africa (ESARO) Strategic Note 2026–2029 outlines a vision to advance gender equality and empower women and girls across 25 countries. While the region has made significant progress in women’s political participation and legal reforms, challenges such as economic inequality, gender-based violence, climate shocks, and humanitarian crises persist. The Strategic Note focuses on four key priorities: promoting women’s leadership and accountability for gender commitments; integrating gender equality in peace, security, humanitarian and climate action; expanding women’s economic empowerment opportunities; and strengthening prevention and response to violence against women and girls. Through its integrated normative, coordination, and operational mandate, UN Women aims to drive system-wide coherence, strengthen partnerships, and enhance gender data and accountability mechanisms.

Faced with complex challenges from insecurity to climate pressure, the UN Women West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) works across 24 countries to drive systemic change. This institutional brochure highlights our core levers of change, key impact results from 2024–2025, and strategic priorities for 2026.

This Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP) was first developed in 2021 and updated in 2025. It provides a comprehensive evidence-based assessment of gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) across political, economic, legal and social domains. It is intended to inform policy, advocacy, budgeting and programming to advance Liberia’s commitments to international, regional and national gender equality frameworks.

Since the introduction of county governments in 2013, county spending has increased from Ksh. 242.5 billion in FY2014/15 to Ksh. 497.5 billion in FY2022/23, reflecting an average year-on-year growth of 11 percent over the last 10 years of devolution—a significant change that has contributed to improved service delivery and increased investment.

The Care Snapshots provide a comprehensive overview of the care economy and care systems in ten countries in West and Central Africa. They highlight existing policies and reforms, identify gaps, and make the case for investing in care systems as a driver of women’s economic empowerment and sustainable development.