Editorial.(Editorial)

This year, as FEMNET commemorates 20 years of existence, we acknowledge with much appreciation the continued support received from our founding members, our dear members and the entire women's movement in working together to promote women's rights in Africa and worldwide. Indeed, we have seen several of our collective efforts to advance gender equality and women's empowerment gain great momentum within local, regional and global fronts. Yet we are aware that much stilt remains to be done to concretize these gains, for instance in domesticating the various taws and policies signed and ratified by our governments.

For sustainable development outcomes, the contribution of women is uncontested in critical debates on financing for development and aid effectiveness. For instance, the 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held in New York from 25th February 2008 to 7th March 2008, generated key debates and discussions by governments, development partners and the civil society organisations, including women's rights organisations who together reviewed and strategized on important global commitments made in the area of financing for gender equality and women's empowerment. FEMNET was present in New York and in this issue we bring you a report on some of our activities before, during and after the 2008 CSW. We also share with you some of the agreed conclusions, which our governments committed to implementing at national and regional levels.

In September, ministers from all countries, heads of development agencies and civil society organisations from around the world will gather in Accra, Ghana for the Third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. The objective will be to assess progress made in the implementation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PD) and to agree on a new 'agenda for action' (AAA). This will be the first opportunity for donor and recipient countries, and civil society organizations, to review the progress on the implementation of the PD, particularly in making aid more transparent, accountable and results-oriented. The PD has been viewed as being gender-blind and therefore gender advocates and experts are engaged in advocacy activities to ensure that women's rights and gender equality perspectives are integrated in participatory processes for defining and monitoring national development plans. FEMNET in collaboration with UNIFEM, Action Aid International and the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF) organized a 'Regional Consultation on Aid Effectiveness and Gender Equality: Road to Accra' to create awareness around the PD and build the capacity of key regional women's networks in Africa so that they will strongly engage in the aid effectiveness agenda and meaningfully participate before, during and after the Accra Forum in September.

Then in November/December, there will be the 'Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus' in Doha, Qatar. Here, governments and development partners will be assessing progress made over the years in implementing the Monterrey Consensus, reaffirm goats and commitments as welt as share best practices and lessons learned. Again, women's rights activists are preparing themselves to explore gender implications of financing for development and enhance consistency between national macroeconomic policies, plans and programmes and the internationally agreed goals.

In all these processes and spaces, we strongly believe that African women must be welt informed so as to participate and contribute in shaping the development agenda in their countries. The international and regional policy commitments already adopted by our governments require the political will and appropriate financial, technical and materials resources to make meaningful impact on the lives of women, men and children. Priority should be given to ensure that funding for locally strategic initiatives is accessed by women at the community level.

As you read and reflect on the articles in this issue, we welcome you ideas/suggestions on how you and your organizations plan to engage and contribute in the aid effectiveness agenda not only this year, but also in future. Please send your feedback to communication@famnet.or.ke

Happy reading!