11 January 2010: The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has launched the Fund for Gender Equality, which will provide grants to support initiatives worldwide to empower women and to promote their political participation and property rights. The grants support Government and civil society partnerships, and focus on vulnerable women including indigenous women, high-risk groups and those affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as women who are small farmers facing food insecurity and exposed to the negative effects of climate change. The Fund is a US$68 million dollar multilateral initiative supported by the Governments of Spain and Norway. The initial allocation of the Fund, US$9 million, will benefit 27 initiatives across 26 countries supporting women in the informal sector in Cameroon, Egypt and the Philippines to promoting political participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Dominican Republic, Uganda, Morocco and in the Pacific Islands. [UN Press Release] [UNIFEM Press Release]