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The response to GBV in conflict and post-conflict situations continues to improve,
with some SADC Member States having specific legislation tailored towards preventing
and protecting women and girls during times of armed and other conflicts, and guaran-
teeing that the perpetrators of such abuse are brought to justice before a competent court.
In the year 2019/2020, the SADC Secretariat took action to increase knowledge
and understanding of the SADC Regional Strategy in order to promote its implementation
by Member States and regional partners and stakeholders. Some key actions implemented
to promote the use of this strategy include working with the SADC Parliamentary Forum
to sensitise women parliamentarians on the SADC GBV Strategy and the status of GBV
in the region in order to inform their advocacy efforts at national level.

Gender Responsive Budgeting
Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is rooted in the quest to improve national economies
and is linked to the attainment of gender equality through the method and priorities used
for allocating budgetary resources. The production of GRB guidelines in 2014 emanated
from an understanding that gender equality considerations were not being clearly presented
in budgets for resource allocation, thus hampering some areas of women empowerment.
The GRB guidelines have been used to capacitate planning entities including the finance
ministry and other ministries in SADC Member States. However, progress is still limited
and only a few Member States are applying the strategy.
For example, through the use of GRB in Tanzania, a programme for girls’ secondary
education was established to increase access for low-income groups, and scholarships were
130 provided for female students at university level. In addition, agricultural subsidies for vulner-
able families, of which many are female-headed, were established to cover farm inputs such
as fertiliser, seeds and pesticides, and water wells were built for 10 villages under each local
authority to reduce the distance and burden for women and girls to fetch water. In South
Africa, the zero rating of paraffin (i.e. kerosene) in the Value Added Tax was introduced in
2001 through GRB to reduce the tax burden on women who rely on this source of fuel.

Science and Technology Innovation
Senior Officials responsible for science and technology have since 1999 en-
gaged in discussions to share experiences, challenges and information on
achieving regional integration using science and technology as a tool for poverty eradica-
tion, as SADC had not provided a formal forum for strengthening science and technology
development.
Following a long consultative process, the region adopted a Declaration on Science,
Technology and Innovation (STI) in 2007, which preceded the adoption of the SADC
Protocol on Science, Technology and Innovation in 2008. The main objectives of the Pro-
tocol are to facilitate regional cooperation and coordination in STI as well as to maximise
public and private investment in regional research and development. However, there have
been challenges in the implementation of STI targets due to an under-resourced STI desk
at the Secretariat, which is hampering the effective monitoring of regional interventions.

Private Sector
The role of the Private Sector in SADC is wealth creation, employment
generation and therefore poverty reduction, which is line with the vision of
SADC. However the strategies and approaches by which the private sector
may be engaged by Member States for mutual benefit, are not entirely
in place across the region.