Introduction

On June 16, 2022, the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship hosted a hybrid event tackling funding schemes and support by donors towards Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Lebanon and sexual and reproductive health rights. This event was in partnership with the Heilbrunn Department of Population & Family Health at Columbia University, SVRI, and Marsa Health Center.

The event’s first speaker, Terry McGovern, discussed the funding intervention of Global North donors in the field of GBV. She highlighted that understanding and supporting complex integrated interventions that get at the root causes of GBV is a must.

The event encompassed key findings and policy recommendations derived from the research study which was presented by the director of the Asfari Institute, Lina Abou Habib. The key research findings point out the critical importance of the large-scale humanitarian funding schemes, the complexities related to funding flows, the paucity of large-scale research, and the immense responsibility of the local civil society organization shouldered.

Sara Abu Zaki, the executive director of Marsa, reflected on the policy recommendations presented in the research study and discussed the funding priorities of donors in the field of GBV and sexual and reproductive health rights. She also talked about the work of Marsa in those fields too.

Angelica Pino, the last speaker, talked about the strategies needed to communicate to actors that play central roles in political circles and how to advise them in public policy and on the results of reports and policy recommendations similar to the ones presented during the event. She also presented the objectives of SVRI and how they operate in the fields of GBV and gender. She also talked about donor strategies, grants, and proposals.

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