SAGE – Sustaining Action for Gender Equality project
What is the SAGE Project?
The Sustaining Action for Gender Equality (SAGE) project, funded by the Gates Foundation, is a new initiative launched by the Robert Carr Fund (RCF) and Aidsfonds. During 2024 –2027 SAGE aims to mainstream a gender transformative approach across RCF and Aidsfonds policies, governance, systems and programs, ensuring that gender justice is embedded in all aspects of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Why is SAGE Important for the HIV Movement?
Gender inequality is a major driver of HIV infections, especially among women, girls, and gender-diverse people. In 2022 alone, 46% of all new HIV infections occurred among women and girls, highlighting the urgent need to address these overlapping vulnerabilities.
The SAGE project seeks to bridge the gap between the HIV movement and broader movements for gender justice, striving to create a world free from AIDS where no one is left behind. By recognizing the interconnected nature of gender inequality and health outcomes, SAGE works to influence social norms, policies, and laws to uplift marginalized groups and foster a more equitable society. It is critical that we address the role of gender inequality in HIV care, as it continues to slow us down on our path to ending AIDS by 2023.
Project updates are published at SAGE Substack Blog
SAGE Theory of Change
SAGE Glossary and Library
Artwork by Arty Guava
What Are the Key Objectives of SAGE?
At its core, SAGE focuses on empowering organizations and communities to tackle the root causes of gender inequality. The project has several key objectives:
- Strengthening decision-making processes with gender knowledge and resources.
- Refining internal policies to support the lived experiences of communities.
- Facilitating peer-led learning to influence social norms, policies, and laws.
- Creating collective spaces for consciousness-raising and healing from gender inequality.
A Gender Working Group will be established in early 2025 to foster collaboration and innovation among RCF partners. This group will guide the integration of a gender transformative approach across RCF’s work, ensuring that the project’s objectives are met.
How Does SAGE Plan to Build Capacity?
One of SAGE’s key focuses is building the capacity of staff, grantees, and stakeholders to better understand and address gender inequality. This will be achieved through awareness-raising, healing, and skill-building sessions designed to foster a Community of Practice around gender equality in the HIV response.
Additionally, SAGE will curate resources and tools to ensure that this transformative approach is sustainable within the organizations it supports. By influencing organizational culture and practice, the project aimes to create lasting change in how gender issues are addressed in HIV prevention and care. Strengthening internal capacity is critical to making sure that gender mainstreaming becomes embedded in both day-to-day operations and long-term strategic planning.
How Does SAGE Promote Peer-Led Learning?
SAGE emphasizes peer-led learning as a key strategy to apply gender analysis in HIV programs. This approach will help grantees develop innovative strategies to reduce gender inequalities by expanding their knowledge and capacity. Through these efforts, SAGE will encourage collaboration between grantees, governments, and gender equality advocates, creating ripple effects that influence broader outcomes in the HIV sector. Moreover, it will strengthen the existing connection between feminism and HIV care which is often disregarded in the current system.
We trust that our grantees already know how to work in gender transformative way, because people don’t live single issue lives. We hope that by mainstreaming this approach across all of our programming, we will be able to better support communities to create just and equitable societies. – Srushti Mahamuni, SAGE Project Lead and Senior Gender Advisor, RCF
These collaborations are expected to lead to the adoption of new policies, increased allocation of resources for gender equality initiatives, and improvements in services that reduce barriers for women, girls, and gender-diverse people. SAGE’s peer learning initiatives also aim to support changes in social norms, promoting gender justice across communities.
What Role Does Accountability Play in SAGE?
Accountability is a cornerstone of the SAGE project. Continuous monitoring and evaluation will help ensure that the project’s gender equality goals are being met. By measuring progress, sharing successes, and learning from challenges, SAGE will ensure that its impact is sustainable and far-reaching. The project’s commitment to accountability will also extend to RCF’s partnerships, ensuring mutual accountability between RCF and its grantees. This focus on shared responsibility will drive continuous improvements in gender justice outcomes, making SAGE a transformative force in the global HIV response.
What Impact Does SAGE Aim to Achieve?
SAGE project aims to mainstream gender justice within the HIV response. By addressing both the internal capacity of organizations and the external factors influencing gender inequality, SAGE is designed to create a more inclusive, equitable, and effective response to HIV/AIDS. Through collaboration, peer learning, and a strong focus on accountability, the project is poised to have a lasting impact on both gender equality and HIV outcomes globally.
Project updates are published at SAGE Substack Blog