THE IMPACT OF NGOS EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

The Impact of NGOs Empowerment of Women through Microfinance in Rural Africa



Abstract

The centrality of the state in the development process of many less developed countries (LDCs) has come under critical scrutiny because of its limited success in fostering adequate social, economic and political changes in the last three decades. Many blame the deepening development crisis and attendant decline in basic services on the inadequacies of the bloated state. The search for other institutional actors to supplement and/or compliment the receding state services has focused attention on nongovernmental agencies (NGOs).

As such, NGOs are rapidly becoming a more important element in the development process becoming a core of Affican civil society. Their importance is related to their policy advocacy capacity. This paper reviews NGOs in SubSaharan Africa and develops a framework that can be utilized to assess strengths and weaknesses in their quest toward policy advocacy.

Table of Content

CHAPTER-I: INTRODUCTION4

CHAPTER-II: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Can NGOs Serve As Change Agents In Society?8

A Critique of NGOs as a Vehicle for Change10

Effectiveness in Policy Advocacy: A Framework14

CHAPTER-III: METHODOLOGY21

CHAPTER-IV: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS22

Source of Funding and Policy Advocacy25

Policy Advocacy and Policy Research Capacity29

CHAPTER-V: CONCLUSION35

REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY39

CHAPTER-I: INTRODUCTION

Increasingly non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Sub-Saharan Africa are being called upon to "scale up" and become involved in policy advocacy (Bratton 1990; Clark 1990; EASUN 1995; MWENGO 1995a). Indeed, there is an increasing number of NGOs that have begun or are in the process of adding policy advocacy as part and parcel of their overall programmatic activities. But why should NGOs be involved in policy advocacy? The purpose of engaging in policy advocacy is to positively influence public policy for the benefit of advocating group members and/or constituents. NGOs have a wealth of expertise and experiences working at the micro-level in implementing projects that are geared toward meeting peoples' basic needs. Why, then, should they scale up? This article argues that scaling up is important for the development of the democratic process as NGOs represent a segment of the population with little voice in policy matters. Citizen influence on the modern democratic state most often occurs through social organizations demanding government responsiveness to citizen concerns.

Based on the lessons of the last three decades, particularly the 1980s, it is clear that grassroots development issues are best addressed in the context of broader policies at the national and international levels. The last three decades witnessed a decline in the quality of life for many people in Africa. Development models followed during this period failed to transform the lives of many people on the continent. As a result, many observers of NGOs concluded that NGOs seeking to have a sustainable impact on the development process in Africa must scale up and develop policy advocacy capacity (Clark 1990; EASUN 1995; MWENGO 1995a,1995b). In effect, NGOs must purposefully become proactively engaged in the governance process by advocating policies targeted at improving the conditions of the people who traditionally have had no voice in the policy making process.

In the past, NGOs in Africa have concentrated their ...