WHAT WE DO

“AI helped me. It was a very valuable workshop. We don’t understand and are too scared to ask. Once you understand you are in a better position to communicate … what that workshop did was provide a consciousness about how to look at this in everyday life, how we construct our agency, and how to have more inclusive daily experiences. The more you immerse in a lived experience the more your work starts to show that.” (Business partner respondent)

“They have been available. We work very closely together on the research project, and (AI staffer)  will respond within an hour. The support and advice that I get is amazing. Even in terms of leading the whole project – it was really initiated by AI and taken on by SATF.” (DH NGO partner)

“AI is very outspoken on what people are thinking and too afraid to say, for example, (AI staffer)  posted something on facebook, and we thought ‘wow, AI is on point - a lot of people are thinking this, but few are brave enough to say it.’ Even if they are provocative, they are thoughtful, being firm and telling you in a way that is not viewed as abrasive. That is a wonderful balance to have when issues are so sensitive to people.” (LGBT NGO respondent)

“So has it impacted our work? We have been very conscious about that – we refurbished and created gender neutral bathrooms in our building. That is a very overt, physical reminder that this is not lip-service. It emphasises the importance of looking in the mirror before looking out the window. This came up as a priority at our management conference and I do think it impacts on people’s consciousness and we are reminded every day.” (Business partner respondent)

“She has been a mentor for me to apply skills. Through AI, I have become one of the consultants for civil society engagement in accountability in all the processes in the Global Fund.” (National civil society consultant)

“AI are very good at bringing people together and building a sense of solidarity and common purpose, while at the same time being respectful of people’s expertise in different areas. It worked out really well. A very very fruitful collaboration.” (Interview respondent)

“AI has created that kind of trust. There is a sense of joint purpose and trust. We are in this together. We can assist each other.” (Interview respondent)

“It made me more open. I am now able to engage with HIV in a way that is healthy and productive. …. We invited the community to come and see it. We do a lot of advocacy and community strengthening work …. AI showed us a different way of doing HIV-related work in a rights-focused way.” (LGBT NGO respondent)

“This was my first international speaking platform. It boosted my self-esteem, enhanced my speaking ability, and how to convince and engage people in conversation and how to sell my product to people.” (LGBT NGO respondent)

“I was so scared, but I got very positive feedback, and we got invitations to speak in other spaces after that. We are now invited to speak on LGBT equality at the European Development Day to the EU and government officials –to inform their position on gender in African countries. Before DH I was doing a lot of community work – I did not have as much engagement at such high-level meetings. DH has contributed to my public speaking confidence and opportunities to address these meetings.” (LGBT NGO respondent)

“Before DH we had not done radical campaigns – we mostly did community work and campaigning amongst LGBT women.” (LGBT NGO respondent)

“They also recommend AI’s continued support to skills and support for campaigning activists, especially to help leaders to engage at all levels, articulate their arguments, and confidently advocate for rights: “So if you meet the president or an ambassador, what would you say? We need the skills to do well in opportunistic engagements.”” (LGBT NGO respondent)

“AI helped with information and guidance on how to go about advocacy work. We have just developed an advocacy strategy and included the DH strategy. We thought the ideas were brilliant to implement in Lesotho. We have operated for long without an advocacy strategy. We were dealing with stigma and discrimination without really dealing with the underlying assumptions – all the challenges are about heteronormativity and patriarchy – so we need to destabilise to get to positive impact, so all the strategies we developed were based on DH and getting people to think outside the box.” (LGBT NGO respondent)

“The campaign highlights everyone else’s work as much as CCG itself, which gives me a lot of hope for collegiality rather than only promoting one’s own work. I would like to see that continue.” (Interview respondent)

“This work can’t happen in a vacuum or silo. The intersectionality of criminalization and of identities has been a key part of our work and understanding. It is great that CCG pulls together people from different movements and sees what we have in common.” (Interview respondent)

“What struck me was that there was a real diversity across the different issues, including sex work, HIV, drugs, UN, law and development, and a multiplicity of actors who might have been working down a rabbit hole and not seeing the common goals. Perhaps by putting our heads together we can at least present a united front on some issues, and could benefit from joint advocacy.” (Interview respondent)

“They have folks representing expertise beyond their physical body. Diversity is also around what they are bringing to the table, e.g. somebody who is trans who has legal background. I think CCG does that well. It becomes a real rich space in that way. [Often] the ‘experts’ are white, and the black and brown folks are the ‘activists’. At CCG it felt like that was not the case.” (Interview respondent)

“It’s an exciting project with inclusive coordination that makes partners feel included and part of a bigger, more impactful cross-movement. The nature of the project in building and showcasing solidarity is unique.” (CCG Survey)

“We understand there are many issues in common, but funders, media, parliamentarians work with divide and rule. So how do we not all fight for the same funds, attention, or argue for decriminalization of one, making it worse for others? It is important to understand that we are all in the same boat - all oppressed - and we shouldn’t add to oppression of others through our words. We need to work together better and be more coordinated.” (Interview respondent)

“I have loved AI so much, that I can’t see how they can improve. They have been doing wonderfully well.” (National civil society consultant)

“The capacity and instructions provided by AI was enough for me. Coming along on field work helped, with us asking questions.” (National civil society consultant)

“CCM is a complex area for civil society. They learned to unpack it using knowledge and technical capacity in scorecards.” (Regional NGO and CCM team)

“AI gave technical support and developed tools against criteria for CCM efficiency, looking at how the concept note was being done at country level across constituencies – how civil society was meaningfully engaged in the process. Are they really representing their constituency? Are their voices being heard? Do they have power to influence decisions?” (National civil society consultant)

“In my experience with the scorecards, we worked very well as a team. I didn’t feel that anything was withheld from me, we discussed everything.” (National civil society consultant)

“Everything going on is on their website. It is open and updated regularly. I can call and reach out for information on any issue, and I get beautiful responses. When they see opportunities they share them with me, including funding opportunities. I cherish this.” (National civil society consultant)

“We (TALC, Zambia) have been keen followers of AI's work and we have used some of the content in our advocacy work at national, regional and global level to help improve service delivery to the affected communities.” (Survey)

“The shadow reports stand out as very useful. Doing that work in such a coordinated way, and at that scale was impactful. Shadow reports helped in advocacy – why there should be more money to CCMs – and why donors should also step up. Donors put demands on CCMs but do not support them.” (Global network)

“They (scorecards and shadow reports) are good at identifying whether the organisation is really doing what they were meant to do.” (Regional NGO and CCM team).

“We are seeing a lot more interest in civil society to play a part in the CCM.” (Regional NGO and CCM team)

“AI has supported civil society knowing what’s been discussed, especially around CCM Evolution. They share information which was not disseminated. It was too quick for Global Fund, but AI got that information out.” (Global network)

“We learned how to enrich the agenda with evidence, how to manage the discourse, how to engage with CCM, how to package and use scorecard findings to convince CCMs in a friendly way, without naming and shaming.” (National civil society consultant)

“They need to know that the watchdogs are not there to cancel their efforts, but to ensure compliance to processes.” (National civil society consultant)

“It is high time to look for independent donors to ensure that these efforts can be sustained. We need to train new watchdogs, give refresher trainings for existing watchdogs, and also do regular shadow reporting .. this all needs funding.” (National civil society consultant)

“The strength that AI brings is knowledge, evidence and processes to use evidence in advocacy.” (Global network)

“(AI staffer)  was very active. She reached out, spoke a lot and was constructive in that space. She was the most vocal and contributed the most as a civil society representative” (Northern funding partner)

“(AI staffer)  has very interesting points of view, coming from civil society. She made very relevant remarks. It is very necessary to have civil society participating in this kind of meeting.” (Northern NGO)

“I found the AI review on the shadow reports very insightful. It gave more verification to the fact that there was a problem.” (Global fund respondent)

“(AI staffer) understands the roles and processes of CCMs, as well as being a representative of civil society and understanding that sector.” (Northern funding partner)

“The work that came out of EANASSO and AI on the CCM shadow reports is useful for both advocacy and also the CCM Evolution project to identify where we can influence certain process. The shadow reports were very helpful. They are still being used today.” (Global network)

“AI really do push for community engagement being a large part of CCM Evolution.” (Global network)

“One of the main CCM Evolution strategies is about engagement of the members and civil society participation, not only by representatives, and also the range of civil society. CCM Hubs give much importance to participation of civil society and of the members. I can’t say whether the AI proposal has resulted in this emphasis, or not. But we are seeing the civil society is included in CCM Evolution.

“Civil society organisations learned and appreciated the importance of an organised civil society articulating a common and collective voice on key issues of the national response.” (National consultant email to AI, 2018)

“Seriously! A country like Nigeria would not have improved if not for the intervention of AI.” (Survey)

“[Accountability has improved] especially in terms of pushing for representations of key populations and young people, and in terms of getting civil society constituencies to ally themselves together and speak with a more unified voice.” (Survey)

“As result of the advocacy various CCMs have undergone positive transformations that have contributed to effective programme delivery of the grants at country level.” (Survey)

“CCG was a space where I felt I could participate in a conversation that didn’t feel lopsided to people from Western Europe and USA” (Interview respondent)

“I have found it to be incredibly useful. To connect with individuals doing work in-country, and to enrich my own thinking on what is happening in my country. Concrete for me, was how these frameworks use very similar mechanisms and rhetoric, so it helps to hear strategies of people who work in other contexts.” (Interview respondent)

“In the CCG forum there are no sacred cows.” (Interview respondent)

“My perspective became even broader. I gained an understanding even more of the criminalization of sex outside marriage and abortion, and just how the SRHR movement has resonance with our work. Broad movement- building and understanding are critical. We all have a common enemy – the patriarchy and white supremacy. These conversations helped me to think about broader work, reaching out to other partners and other funding streams.” (Interview respondent)

“There was a person from Africa with me talking about abortion and how it can change the life of a young girl. This opened a new window in my mind and inspired me as an activist. … We also had a long discussion on what to do about decriminalization of LGBTI and separating sexuality from gender.” (Interview respondent)

“Knowledge production on SOGIE is either written by people from the west, or it is knowledge from the west. So there is an element that it is not us talking or writing about it. It is not our thing. We wanted to debunk that – we [Africans] are the academics to write about it. So the Special Issue involved African academics producing knowledge on SOGIE in the African context.” (DH academia partner)

“I know the Special Issue got a lot of traction. A new group of people is now writing on this. People approached me at the HEAIDS16 Youth Conference. They had been doing quite a bit of work at TVETs and Institutions of Higher learning, and when they saw the Special Issue they suggested doing something together. They did the Critical Thinking Forum in partnership with us, and we went to WSU for training-of-trainers on LGBT with their people.” (DH academia partner)

“They were never allowed to form a structure before our intervention and LGBT integration into the peer education programme at Butterworth Campus. Now they have an LGBT society that can stage any form of activity.” (Academia respondent)

In the past students at Fort Hare said “that they have to be invisible to survive, because if visible, they felt that they were inviting violence and discrimination”, whereas now, “students who identify as queer are out at Fort Hare, and under DH they had their first pride march. So even though campus is still not conducive, they are greatly encouraged by senior campus staff.” (DH academia partner)

“An opportunity to meet amazing activists and experts from around the world and find solidarity for the difficult work we do.” (CT Workshop Evaluation)

“The great range of people, new allies and partners.” (CT Workshop Evaluation)

“Loads of contacts! A really great group - connections made.” (CT Workshop Evaluation)

“CCG links advocates and activists across diverse and related issues and this, in and of itself, is empowering.” (CCG Survey)

“We have been able to pinpoint key networks, like the Global Sex Work Project, or HIV Justice Alliance, or International Drug Policy Consortium, and each in turn is a network or umbrella of other organizations working globally and regionally. So we have access through these networks. We would not be able to reach their members in any other way. AI brings the top layer to the room. It is very diverse - and the networks have diversity in their catchments too.” (Interview respondent)

“Great participating, speakers are knowledgeable and good quality.” “The mix of expertise and diversity of issues tackled was impressive.” (CT Workshop evaluation)

 

All of our work since the very beginning has been about amplifying the voices of those who are the most left behind.

These are the people we serve:

1. Groups of people with whom we ahve had the honour of working:
2. People living with HIV, Tuberculosis or Malaria, STIs, Hepatitus
3. People living with disease
4. People who are differently abled (People living with dis-ability)
5. People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and women who ave sex with women, and men who have sex with me.
6. People who are trans, queer, or intersex
7. Womxn (in all diversities) and girls
8. People who use drugs
9. People who do sex work
10. People who are criminalised on the basis of their bodily autonomy choices of behaviour or identities
11. People who try to access safe abortion
12. People who encounter prison systems and other closed settings
13. Young people
14. Elderly people
15. People who are discriminated against on the basis of the gender, race, age, religion, ethnicity, migrant status, place of birth, geographic location, rural location, level of formal education, level of income and class.
16. Any other people who are stigmatised, discriminated, criminalised, invisibilised and oppressed by others.

Accountability International is known for its high-quality, community-engaged, needs-drive research.

We prioritise collaboration in our research, and always have. Our own Accountability Theory of Change (Accountability Framework) and Scorecarding methodology were the results of the inputs of hundreds of collaborators over a two-year period.

AI was also probably the first people to use the balanced scorecard as a tool in the health and human rights tool. Prior to our first scorecard, balanced scorecards were being used almost exclusively by academics and the education sector at provincial level only, and by the business sector. UN bodies were using them for their own internal human resources and accountability, but not for country performance on human rights. AI is proud to have been a key player in popularisng the use of scorecards to demand accountability on HIV, SRHR, health and human rights.

Our first Scorecard was the Country Scorecard (2008), followed by the Womens Scorecard (2009) and the LGBT Scorecard (2010). Since then we have developed over 25 Scorecards at last count! And advised on the scorecards and bringing accountability to many movements including The International Diabetes Federation, The Global Alliance on Road Safety NGOs and the African Union Scorecard on Financing for Health.

In fact, we did so well that UNAIDS took on our method and we worked ourselves out of a job! Other UN bodies and many other organisations followed and happily the scorecard is now a common tool for demanding human rights.

Follow these links to learn more about the AI Scorecard Methodology and our Theory of Change.

• Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Scorecard for Africa – 2020
• African Youth SRHR Scorecard 2020
• African HIV Financing Scorecard – 2019
• Scorecard for Women & Girls SRHR in Africa 2018
• CCM Scorecard & Country CCM Shadow Reports 2016-2017
• The AI African Child Marriage Snapshot Scorecard 2016
• Access to Medicines Scorecard 2015 – 2016
• AMSHeR African MSM Health Scorecards 2015
• The AI Maputo Plan of Action Scorecard 2012
• The AI Scorecard on LGBT 2011
• The AI Scorecard on Women 2009
• The AI Workplace Scorecard 2008
• The AI Country Scorecard 2008

Accountability International has completed over fifty research reports since we began in 2008.

We are known for high quality research that amplifies community needs and places accountability and human rights at the centre stage. Almost all of our research has been in collaboration with communities.

We use participatory action research (PAR) methods to conduct our community led monitoring research. Accountability International is a leader in the use of PAR for marginalized community groups in Africa.

PAR is a best practice method of doing research that sees Accountability International as a research facilitator and the communities as researcher. It is a research facilitation method that comes from the field of anthropology and has the community designing and conducting the research from start to end, including determining the research objective, developing the methodology, creating the questionnaires, conducting interviews, data analysis and writing the report.

The community then does advocacy with the research, knowing more about it than any other person, and can better argue for its findings and recommendations due to the intimate knowledge of the research. The community is able to use the research results to drive public and decision-makers opinions.  Thanks to the communities in-depth knowledge of research, they are able to adapt the research to also advocate for funding, and make other recommendations  to various stakeholders. 

By its very nature, our method creates knowledge generation through self-reflection on oneself and one’s experiences, rather than knowledge collection by outsiders. AI has used this for method since 2013, creating watchdogs, research and stimulating advocacy with Country Coordinating Mechanisms, Men who have sex with men (MSM) health and human rights, key population scorecards and Situation Analysis for Trans people in Southern Africa, and many many more.

Examples of our community led monitoring research:

African Youth SRHR Scorecard 2020

The goal of this African Youth SRHR Scorecard was for youth to empower themselves to conduct their own research which they used to advocate for accountability on their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The CCM Scorecard and Country CCM Shadow Reports

The CCM Scorecard and Country CCM Shadow Reports was a nine country study that saw communities and civil society watchdogs evaluate the CCMs against the Global Fund's own Eligibility Performance Assessment, and research for themselves how their CCMs are performing, as a means to improve accountability.

Accountability International endeavours to do communications and media campaigns that can advance accountability and human rights for all, in as many ways as possible.

Some examples of our campaigns:

Lesbian Voices

In 2018-9, our African & European offices collaborated on this experimental campaign in which we are testing if we can put the "Voices" directly into the campaign, without interference from communications "experts" who know nothing about the lives of African lesbians. We invited lesbian peers to write messages, choose images & colour that would best portray their corresponding emotion. This campiagn was an inquiry into how best to gather the tone and mood of the author when they constructed their message and capture that in the final product that goes out. No longer the designer or the comms prson choosing what colour to add and choosing an angry face when the message was written in bold love. No longer comms putting a calm colour when the message came from the author with a fun and joking brightness! Read more here

Valentines Day

For many years AI has developed fun, inclusive campaigns for Valentines Day, which speak to important human rights issues. For more information on these campaigns read more here.

WhosMyTribe.com

WHO'SMYTRIBE is an online media campaign, led by Africans, which aims to reduce stigmatisation and discrimination against sexual and gender diversity including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The campaign has been developed by Accountability International as a means to show that sexual and gender diverse people are no different to others and must have equal rights and access to education, health, housing, work and other rights. Read more here

The following is a list of just some of the contributions Accountability International has made over the years:

Developed the first health rights scorecard and a robust methodology developed by over one hundred experts from around the globe, which we popularised for broader use by activists and other stakeholders.

First ever project on creating partnerships between LGBT Africans & cis-het allies - Changed the way LGBT human rights work was done & funded in Africa.

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

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

Conceptualised and run a multi-disciplinary and intersectoral project amongst human rights movements to minimise the criminalisation between marginalised groups and human rights movements and to create a critical mass of stakeholders Challenging Criminalisation Globally.

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 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.

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.

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.

Our re-grantee: The University of Witwatersrand, a partner on the Destabilising Heteronormativity Project produced their own special issue on SOGIE in the South African Journal of Higher Education (a prestigious journal) with 19 journal articles published from allies and LGBTIQ activists changing the narrative on African voices on LGBTIQ matters.

Our DH project was instrumental in getting gender-neutral bathrooms onto several campuses in Southern Africa.

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

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

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).

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.

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.

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 is the first international NGO with a young Motswana trans woman as Executive Director, Ricki Tshepo Kgositau.

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 to the review of the MPOA, 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.

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.

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.

AI conceptualised and created the Advertisers Activists Collective, which trained over 400 advertising staff in South Africa on the inclusion, portrayal and visibility of LGBTIQ people in advertising offices, media and as models. Alistair King is (King James Agency) was our Ambassador of the #EqualityChallenge.

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 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 highlighted the evidence around youth issues for evidence based advocacy for youth advocates and allies.

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

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.

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.