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Supporting the work of the Grandmothers Advocacy Network (GRAN), the Grassroot Grannies advocate through displays, speaking engagements, media, letter writing campaigns, and participating in organized advocacy events. We have signed petitions, spoken to our MPs and marched on Parliament Hill several times urging our federal government to keep their promises.  

On this page of our website, we are now including the GRAN Updates on a quarterly basis.
GRAN Update - February 2024
Advocating for grandmothers, vulnerable children and youth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Canadian grannies 
supporting 
African grannies



Hello Friends! GRAN National Gathering May 13-14 in Toronto
An enthusiastic group of GRANs is busy organizing our first face-to-face gathering in several years. We are delighted that this is finally able to take place, and we hope that many of you will consider attending. These national gatherings are always a real GRAN tonic to re-energize and inspire. We are excited to have journalist, documentary film-maker, and human rights activist Sally Armstrong as our keynote speaker on the opening night. Details about the event, including venue and accommodations, are now available on the Hello Friends! page of our website and will be updated as the program is finalized. Registration will open at the beginning of March. 


GRANs, this is such a great opportunity to : 
​Catch up with old friends and make new ones.
​Listen to inspiring speakers.
Work Hard.
And have fun.
We hope you can join us!
Right to Food Campaign 
ONE International, in this month’s Aftershocks newsletter, provides a good overview of food insecurity in Africa and some of the gains being made in the fight against hunger. 

However, a growing concern globally is decreasing groundwater levels, with serious ramifications for agriculture, especially in Africa. More than 95% of African agriculture is reliant on rainfall. Africa has experienced more than 150 droughts since 2000, with the rate of droughts tripling over the past 50 years. Twelve of the world’s 20 countries most at-risk from drought are in Africa, and one in three Africans are already facing water insecurity. Without significant changes, the future looks drier. And sadly, countries dealing with crisis levels of hunger received just 35% of their funding needs in 2023. Zero funding appeals were met in full, and 88% weren’t even half met.

Progress however is being made. Regenerative agriculture is a growing agriculture movement. Traditional African crops are also making a comeback. Native crops are better suited to local ecosystems, are often more nutritious, and are likely to be more resilient to climate change. Crops such as fonio, pearl millet, sorghum, and teff, are gaining in popularity beyond Africa, driving up demand. And, after decades of neglect, plant scientists are working to make ancient grains higher-yielding and more climate-resilient. 
GRAN Action on the Right to Food
Access to Medicines Watch Group

Good news regarding malaria vaccines!
Following a successful trial of the World Health Organization-approved RTS,S malaria vaccine in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi, Cameroon began offering it to children through routine immunization programs at the end of January. Burkina Faso followed suit in early February. Nearly 10,000 children have received it thus far. 
In October 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) approved a second malaria vaccine for children. This R21/Matrix-M vaccine will be available alongside the RTS,S vaccine which was approved in 2021. The rollout will continue in 17 other African countries in 2024. According to WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Motei, the shot “holds real potential to close the huge demand-and-supply gap. 

So far this year the GRAN Co-Chairs have sent a letter to Minister Hussen raising concerns about global hunger and requesting a meeting. We remain hopeful about getting a meeting with him in February or early March, before the Minister of Finance tables Budget 2024 in the House. As a follow-up to the Co-Chairs’ letter, last month we asked you to send postcards reinforcing our message to the Minister. 
A historic day: Ghana ofers the first vaccine for malaria.
Crisis of disease and sexual violence against women and girls in the DRC


In the October Update, we drew your attention to the crisis situation unfolding in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to ongoing conflict and the resulting humanitarian disaster. We asked you to send a letter to the Canadian government regarding this issue. This problem is not going away and the levels of sexual violence against women and girls are increasing alarmingly. For this reason, we are asking you to sign a petition, put out by Doctors without Borders/ Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), asking the Government of Canada to increase Canada’s international humanitarian assistance budget for Democratic Republic of Congo in 2024. You will find a link to the petition in the Actions section at the end of this Update. The petition is open for signatures until March 29th. 
Sexual violence is a major issue in the DRC. MSF is offering medical and psychological support.
Climate Justice Watch Group
After the hottest year on record, 2024 is likely to be even worse, with the El Niño weather pattern heating the planet even more and driving fiercer floods, droughts, wildfires and heat waves across the globe.  Trends driving humanitarian need in 2024 include water scarcity and drought driving increased migration, magnified hunger, health risks, and armed conflicts. However, belt-tightening among wealthy countries in the Global North may mean less international climate assistance to help build resilience in low-income countries most affected by climate change.  


Water insecurity and drought lead to disp[acement
The following good news stories provide balance and hope:

  • This 4-minute film shows how one community in Kenya is taking action to protect against the health risks brought by climate change. 
  •  Also in Kenya, multilateral lender Climate Investment Funds (CIF) is backing a plan to invest up to $300 million to help the country integrate more renewable energy into its grid and meet a goal of using 100% clean energy by 2030,
  • In Nigeria, incoming president, Bola Tinubu, announced in his inaugural address that he is phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. The subsidies amounted to nearly $500 million a month. Tinubu’s administration intends to re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.
  • The continuing work by Solar Sister in supporting women entrepreneurs is bringing solar light to off-grid communities in sub–Saharan Africa.
On the home front, a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives states that while the path to net-zero in Canada is achievable, major policy improvements are required. Policies in place as of March 2023 would see only a 16% reduction of emissions from 2022 levels by 2050. Much more needs to be done, and fast! 
Education Watch Group
The members of the Education Watch Group would like to share some important information about education in sub-Saharan Africa. 
Begin by reading ONE International’s 9 facts you need to know about gender equality 

To highlight just two of the facts from the ONE article: 

Fact #4 makes it clear that education is essential for the future of small-scale women farmers in the Global South. Furthermore, if women had the training in agro-ecology and had access to other resources such as land, finance, and equipment, they could “could help tackle food insecurity and help lift 100 to 150 million people out of hunger.”


​10 year old Esther and fellow schoolmates in a classroon in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo credit: ONE
Fact #7 maintains that “the gender pay gap goes back to education. There has been some progress in girls’ education, but more is needed if we want to close the gender pay gap. For every additional year a girl is in school, it can boost her earnings as an adult by up to 20% If that’s not girl math, we don’t know what is.”
Over 100 postcards have already been sent to Minister Hussen and other parliamentarians by GRANs and our families, friends, and allies. Thank you! More postcards have been distributed and we hope will be delivered soon. 




















Rwanda: How training is helping women farmers grow is an excellent article from the World Food Programme (WFP) on how training and education can empower women by giving them the confidence and the information they need to become successful. Small-scale farmers of Rwanda are participating in training provided by the WFP in partnership with other UN agencies to help make their farms more productive. Farmers are taught entrepreneurial skills such as public speaking, good governance, and innovative farming skills such as grafting, best harvesting practices, accessing the market, and contract negotiation skills. They also learn the skills needed to run a cooperative.
“My leadership skills gave me the confidence to campaign and win a seat as a member of the National Women’s Council in my district,” says one of the farmers, Marie-Rose. “And my grafting business has also enabled me to buy a cow and pay for my family’s medical insurance.”

Mining Justice Watch Group
Ottawa promises a review of its overseas corporate watchdog and its effectiveness This recent article in the Globe and Mail provides us with some hope for the future role of the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE). Despite opposition from industry groups, International Trade Minister Mary Ng announced a commitment to review the role of CORE in the face of widespread criticism for its lack of investigative powers. In response to complaints from communities affected by human rights violations, as well as civil society organizations (including the Canadian Network for Corporate Accountability) and three UN Special Rapporteurs, the Standing Committee on International Trade, reporting on mining and its impact on the environment and human rights, recommended expanding CORE's mandate. Ombudsperson Sheri Meyerhoffer has publicly said that her office would be more effective if it had the powers to compel witnesses and documents, something that human rights organizations and labour unions have been saying since 2018.
GRAN Learning Event -- “In Conversation with Elsie Bokaba” 



On February 1st GRANs were treated to an inspiring and informative talk as Elsie Bokaba, a graduate student working in South Africa, explained the unique environmental values African grandmothers hold and the contributions they are making in tackling the environmental crisis. Elsie hopes to include GRAN in her research as an example of older women’s activism. Working with Elsie gives GRAN an important link to the voices of older women in Africa. If you missed it, you can access the video recording of this webinar by clicking here.
The Order of GRAN
This award is given to those outside our organization who have made outstanding contributions to our work and development. Plans are afoot to once again confer the Order of GRAN at this year’s Hello Friends! gathering. A new page on the GRAN website, located under the ABOUT/À PROPOS tab, celebrates past recipients of the Order of GRAN. We encourage you to visit the page to learn more about GRAN’s history and to appreciate the variety and magnitude of support our friends have provided us along the way.
Book Corner

Women Who Dig: Farming, Feminism, and the Fight to Feed the World by Trina Moyles 

Weaving together the narratives of female farmers from across three continents, Women Who Dig offers a critical look at how women are responding to and, increasingly, rising up against, the injustices of the global food system.
Beautifully written with spectacular photos, it examines gender roles, access to land, domestic violence, maternal health, political and economic marginalization, and a rapidly changing climate. It also shows the power of collective action.
With women from Guatemala, Nicaragua, the United States, Canada, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, and Cuba included, it explores the ways women are responding to, as both individuals and in groups, the barriers they face in providing the world a healthy diet. 



Actions

Right to Food
If possible, arrange a meeting with your MP to urge their support of Canada following through on its promise to increase International Development Assistance this year. Click here for helpful resources.

Violence against Women
Click here to sign the petition to the Canadian government urging immediate humanitarian aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fundraising Month
Contribute to GRANs annual fundraising campaign by clicking here.