In August, USAID Administrator Samantha Power traveled to Papua New Guinea and Fiji, highlighting and strengthening the U.S. Government’s partnerships across the region. In addition to inaugurating USAID’s Country Representative Office for Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, Administrator Power participated in a roundtable discussion, The Role of Women in Papua New Guinea: Weaving A Better Future Together.
USAID Program Cycle Mechanism Specialist Roslyn Waters-Jensen moderated the discussion with women leaders representing next generation, current, and youth leaders. Together the leaders discussed the complex challenges women and girls in Papua New Guinea face, including gender-based violence, community, and inter-group conflict, sorcery accusation-related violence, and how partnering with USAID can help local women’s groups to promote women’s empowerment, build sustainable peace and improve livelihood opportunities for women and youth.
Roslyn noted, “the roundtable discussion was deeply impactful—the participants shared powerful stories of advocating for peace and behavior change in the face of one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world. It was clear that collective action is needed to elevate gender equality and meaningfully address how women and girls are viewed and valued across society to unlock opportunities and weave better outcomes for girls, women, and families.”
Environmental Incentives and Social Solutions International are proud to have contributed to this conversation through our support to the Program Cycle Mechanism contract.
Cover photo by O2 Visuals for USAID.
