OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Accountability International has made a contribution to the advancement of human rights and inclusion of young people (adolescents and youths) through the development of advocacy tools/reports, face-to-face advocacy with policy makers and implementers. This includes work that has been conducted with the African Union Youth Division over the reporting period, and our bi-annual State of the African Youth Report, which highlights the evidence around youth issues for evidence based advocacy for youth advocates and allies.

Accountability International conceptualised and developed the African Youth Task Force on Post 2015; a group of 12 dynamic youths that took African Youths asks on SRHR to their NYC based National Representatives to the United Nations, in order to make a significant impact on African representative's work in NYC.

Accountability International coordinated and collated the input of over 70 African activists (and securing over 350 African activists’ signatures to the document) on various health foci, especially SRHR, to develop the African Common Position on Post 2015, for submission and use in the African Regional Review by the UNFPA and the AUC.

Accountability International launched the Women’s Scorecard and worked closely with UN Women to put accountability at the top of the agenda.

Accountability International launched the Accountability International Scorecard on LGBT, and did significant advocacy around the gaps in data available on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Conceptualised various campaigns touching on bodily autonomy, love, consent via our Valentines Campaign from 2016.

Launched the Lesbian Voices campaign that focused on giving African lesbians a space to think and co-create powerful messages.

Accountability International documented our work of the DH project through a 20min documentary on destabilising hetero and cis-normativity in Africa.

We have done work as a critical research think thank to question the strategic direction of international movements, whilst empowering different grass root organisations and communities to conduct participatory action research and advocacy campaigns for example the Southern African Trans Forum Situation Analysis and the CCM Scorecard and Shadow Reports.

The University of Witwatersrand, a partner on the Destabilising Heteronormativity Project have produced their own special issue on SOGIE in the South African Journal of Higher Education. This is a prestigious journal among South African universities and 19 journal articles were published from allies and LGBTIQ activists themselves in the journal. University of Wits and particularly through the advocacy of staff who are also a part of the project has been instrumental for ensuring that students have access to gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. This has been a huge success.

Accountability International supported Gender Dynamix a trans led organisation with the first regional trans situational analysis of 10 African countries.

Accountability International was selected to co-organize the only session on Global Health at the European Development Days in Stockholm with UNAIDS, GFATM, GAVI & Stop AIDS Alliance.

Accountability Internationalwas invited as a member of the European Centre for Disease Control Advisory-Group to monitor the Dublin Declaration.

Accountability International established the Country Rating Advisory Group (CRAG) involving representatives of government, civil society, academia and the private sector, from both the North and South.

Accountability International initiated collaborative research arrangements with the London School of Economics in the UK, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa.

Accountability International has successfully manoeuvred in the African Union Commission space since 2010 to ensure accountability in that space. From giving technical advice on the AUC Scorecard on Domestic Financing for Health and ensuring out of pocket expenses get highlighted, to Photostatting the paper data kept at the AUC and capturing it digitally to create then the largest database on sexual and reproductive health in Africa and making it available online in 2011. mpoa.aidsaccountability.org

Successfully requested that a minimum 15% of Global Fund’s Country Coordinating Mechanism’s budget be allocated to community consultations for NGOs only - Actively promoted & improved the quality of stakeholder participation in CCMs globally.

Since 2012/3 Accountability International has worked to hold partner organisations on the ICPD and Beyond 2015 processes accountable through development advocacy tools such as Reflections Report (AI ARCPD Reflections Report Feb 2014) which was an accountability tool to record and debate the level of accountability and transparency that occurred around the African Regional Conference on Population and Development (ARCPD). It documented the successes and failures of the variety of stakeholders in the process and reflected on processes and outcomes before and during the ARCPD. This is done as a means to determine how civil society especially can better impact such proceedings in future, and most especially with regard to such processes affecting Africa and SRHR, such as the Post 2015 process.

Accountability International has worked with the AUC Dept of Social Affairs specifically and the Youth Division since 2010. AI has provided technical expertise, ensured that human rights gets priority, and worked to keep accountability high on the agenda, including greater transparency around who gets chosen to do their research and reports work, and what agendas they are pushing. AI has continued to promote the importance of human rights in the attainment of health in line with the continental aspirations of leaving no one behind. Our advocacy has contributed to highlighting the importance of universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights as evident in the revised African health policies. As well as this more political issue, Accountability International assists the AUC in including more data driven analysis in their reports and provides demographic and economic analysis of the relevant data, as well as does data mining for them. AI assists the AUC wherever possible with pragmatic and practical application of work, such as co-writing and researching best practice reports which assist in the better implementation and roll out of effective programmes, and scale up or replication of good practice in other countries. AI also supports the AUC in moving governments to action by providing technical expertise and analysis wherever requested.

Accountability International is the first international NGO with a young Motswana trans woman as Executive Director, Ricki Tshepo Kgositau. The success of the transition is enormous, and the new ED has achieved all of the board’s requirements for each of the set periods. Staff and partners have all been highly enthusiastic about the choice of the board, and preliminary feedback on her performance have all been excellent, most especially in her dedication, technical expertise, collaborative manner, high enthusiasm and feminist leadership style.

Conceptualised and implemented the first-ever African Union Commission owned Accountability Framework against the five most pivotal health commitments in Africa - Created a tangible & measurable accountability tool for actions on health rights in Africa.

Conceptualised and managing the first project run by civil society that is South led and works across movements to Challenge Criminalisation Globally – A much-needed response to ensuring civil society is not undermining each other in achieving equality for all with regards to bodily autonomy.

Accountability International has played a lead role in keeping the Maputo Plan of Action (Africa’s most important commitment on SRHR) on the agenda. From our first MPOA Scorecard in 2011 to many trainings of CSOs on the MPOA and Accountability Literacy, as the online database mentioned above, to the review of the MPOA when it ended in 2016, AI has been there as curator and activist ensuring we do not lose ground on SRHR in this African commitment, and been watchdog to increase accountability. Latest reports can be found here and here. Other such reports and advocacy on SRHR Integration into the Post 2015 exist. These produced reports and tools have allowed for greater transparency on the emerging issues in the guaranteeing of universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights for all. These documents can all be found in our library.

Accountability International conceptualised and developed a project and curriculum to improve Southern African civil society's understanding of HIV and SRHR and the intersectionalities of these two areas of work.

Accountability International created and led The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum, a coalition of international non-governmental organisations promoting an actionable accountability framework for government commitments to HIV. The HIV/AIDS Accountability Forum was a global platform for information exchange and public debate on HIV/AIDS and accountability issues.

Accountability International built on the work of the “Balanced Scorecard” that was being done by others and popularised it for use by health rights activists by applying it to the United Nations data on HIV and AIDS. Thereby launching the Country Scorecard, the first result of an effort that has involved over one hundred international experts and over two years of work to develop its concept and methodology.

Accountability International organised an exclusive workshop at the Tällberg Forum focusing on emerging challenges and innovations in global health.

Accountability International was endorsed by the WHO and UNAIDS.

Conceptualised and raised funds for the first ever project on creating partnerships between LGBT Africans and cis-het allies – thereby changing the way LGBT human rights work was done & funded in Africa (Destabilising Heteronormativity) AI seed funded a number of extremely effective LGBT NGOs under this work.

Conceptualised and created the Advertisers Activists Collective, which aims to change the portrayal, inclusion and visibility of LGBTIQGNC Africans in South African advertising. To date we have trained 358 staff across eight advertising agencies in 2018 alone, including a range of staff such as creative directors and executives, HR managers and staff, copywriters, managing directors, art directors, digital designers and strategists. We have received endorsements from King James Agency (one of South Africa’s most lauded advertising agencies and our Ambassador of the #EqualityChallenge), Creative Circle (the key membership network for South African ad creatives, which has an Executive Committee comprised primarily of the 12 highest scoring creative directors from South African advertising agencies), FCB Africa and GRID Worldwide.

In 2018, Accountability International began the first consultative LGBT communications campaign. In the Lesbian Voices campaign, due to be launched mid-2019, we work with the lesbian community for them to design and write messages for each image used in the campaign. This special issue is likely to go beyond the borders of South Africa and therefore gives voice too and strengthens the work of LGBTIQ people and their allies on the continent.

Through numerous pieces of training and exposure to the Destabilising Heteronormativity project and sensitisation training on LGBTIQ we have seen a change in some people’s attitudes from moving from a place of being fearful and homophobic to being more inclusive and embracing of LGBTIQ people. We have some cases of religious leaders and staff working at a clinic at student offices who have changed their perceptions after they have been exposed to DH project.

As the DH project grew traction since its inception and with our excellent partners being passionate about the work, our partners are now being asked to come in and share their expertise with other organisations and institutions. The partners of the project have a unique way of engaging with the heterosexual community through the project and therefore their expertise is also sought.

Our DH sub-grantee, House of Rainbow held the first Inter-faith pre-conference at the Pan African ILGA conference in 2018. The conference aimed to be small at the start targeting small numbers but there was a very popular demand particular over the issue of faith, sexuality and human rights. It was a huge success with more participants than they had originally expected.

In 2016 and 2017, the first and 2nd LGBTIQ symposium was held at University of Venda. This is very significant that an academic symposium on LGBTIQ is held at a rural university in South Africa. The symposium brought together academics, LGBTIQ students, activists, lecturers and community members to share research on DH project and to discuss issues of LGBTIQ.

Our sub-grantee House of Rainbow has been successfully organising and holding workshops with parents of LGBTIQ children and religious leaders to find more compassionate and alternative ways to read texts in the bible which particularly persecute the LGBTIQ community. Through these conversations with parents, LGBTIQ children and religious leaders there has been an opening and more support coming from some religious leaders and parents. This is an important success.

Accountability International supported DH partners both LGBTIQ and allies to attend key international and regional conferences where they were able to engage with other stakeholders and be a part of Accountability InternationalI’s first accountability pre-conference where partners were able to share the project with key stakeholders in our work.

Accountability International initiated influential work on Global Fund (GFATM) Country Coordinating Mechanisms (CCM) doing research on the sexual orientation and gender identity inclusion being done by the GFATM, and developed Priorities Charters in African countries that directly increase inclusion of key populations in these important decision-making bodies, especially that of women, girls and LGBT people.