In Tanzania, the joint assistance strategy allowed donors to advance gender equality by dividing up responsibilities. This involved, for instance, appointing contact points on gender issues within working groups in sectoral areas such as agriculture.
Gender issues have benefited from the improved division of labour in Tanzania. The government's gender working group has been effective in various sectors, such as local government, education, agriculture and the legal sector. The working group has helped to integrate gender aspects into ongoing policy dialogues in these areas and received regular updates on progress made.
The new division of labour has also resulted in increased accountability among development partners, government and civil society, and in improved results. Still, there is a need for enhanced government capacity in order to strengthen ownership of the gender agenda in practice.
Irish Aid was the contact point for the agriculture sector and used this mandate to highlight gender equality as an important issue for the review of the National Agriculture Sector Development Programme. Donors and government agencies collaborated closely, enabling the Ministry for Community Development, Gender and Children to influence the Ministry of Agriculture to overcome its initial resistance.
Irish Aid provided the necessary technical support for integrating gender equality dimensions into the sector. Specific achievements in the Ministry of Agriculture comprise the inclusion of gender specific indicators in the monitoring and evaluation framework, the preparation of gender checklists for programme cycles (monitoring and annual reviews), and the establishment of capacity building programmes to address gender mainstreaming. Gender focal persons also effectively participate in the macro policy dialogues.