USAID’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash, led by Jhpiego, marked International Women’s Day in New Delhi by celebrating women changemakers from various programs and by bringing renewed focus to ground-level issues and challenges experienced in gender programming.
NEW DELHI: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership: India-Yash project, led by Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins Affiliate, celebrated International Women’s Day in New Delhi. USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator (DAA) of the Bureau for Asia, Änjali Kaur, was a guest of honor at the event. She was joined in the celebration by representatives from the government, civil society actors, implementing partners from other USAID-supported initiatives, entrepreneurs and innovators, thematic experts, academics, and women changemakers.
Fifteen women changemakers from various programs supported by USAID who are contributing at the individual, interpersonal, and community levels to the advancement of the gender equality agenda were felicitated and presented with certificates of appreciation. The participants discussed the benefits of collaboration and allyship, pushing technology and innovation to promote gender equality, exploring implementation models to combat gender-based violence, and, protecting the rights of adolescent girls by preventing Child, Early, and Forced Marriage.
Celebrating the theme of embracing equity, the event concluded with the participants renewing their commitment to mobilizing collective action for gender equality
USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator (Asia), Ms. Änjali Kaur, commented, “USAID celebrates all women and girls, in all of their diversity, around the world. Tackling gender inequality and the empowerment of women and girls have long been a part of USAID’s work—we promote environments that help women succeed economically, prevent and respond to gender-based violence, provide reproductive and other health services, and ensure women’s and girls’ leadership and meaningful participation in all areas of life. Today, we are delighted to celebrate women changemakers in India.”
On the occasion, Rekha Sharma, Chairperson National Commission for Women, Government of India said, ”India has moved from women development to women-led development under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing gender inequities will require concerted efforts of public and private sector actors to close critical gender gaps“.
Dr. Somesh Kumar, Country Director, Jhpiego India highlighted “International Women’s Day is not just about celebrating the achievements of women, but it also marks a call to action towards accelerating gender equality and parity. By building bolder partnerships, focusing on community mobilization, and advocating for innovative solutions, the MOMENTUM project aspires to ensure that young people can exercise their own voice and live free from restrictive gender norms and violence.”
