This report is the first regional baseline study of the provisions of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Gender and Development against the reality on the ground conducted by the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance in all the 15 SADC states.
The report draws on, and enriches sector study reports prepared by cluster lead agencies for the 2008 Heads of State summit at which the Protocol was adopted.
While there has been some visible progress in attaining gender equality in the fifteen countries of the Southern African Development Community, notably in education and political decision-making, there is still a long way to go to achieve the 28 targets of the SADC Protocol on Gender and Development.
This is the main finding of an extensive baseline study carried out by the Southern African Gender Protocol Alliance, which comprises over forty regional and national NGOs that campaigned for the adoption of the Protocol in August 2008. The baseline barometer is being launched on the eve of the SADC Heads of State summit in the DRC in September 2009.
