Management Response

: Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (Kenya)
: 2022 - 2025 , Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (Kenya) (RO)
: Transformative Approaches to Recognize, Reduce, and Redistribute Unpaid Care Work in Women’s Economic Empowerment Programming (3R Programme)
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Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (Kenya)

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In summary, the management agrees with the main findings and recommendations of the evaluation report and follow-up actions will be implemented.

: Approved
Recommendation: A. During the next phase of the programme, put continued and deepened emphasis on getting data/evidence in filling the knowledge gaps and strengthening capacities and dialogue around the 3R, including putting emphasis on the integration of the private sector to introduce good practices such as job creation, market access, positive changes stemming from more favourable internal culture (motivation, creativity, productivity of staff, ability to attract new talent etc.) as possible entry points for strengthening childcare services and services, social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, creating more paid jobs in the care economy. B. After successfully delivering the 3R programme, it is recommended to create a 5R framework in the next phase. While this is ideal, some countries, such as Senegal and South Africa, lack the readiness. It is thus essential to strengthen the work on 3R in the next phase, building the business case and providing evidence that reducing and redistributing women's unpaid care can and will generate fiscal and employment gains, creating political buy-in and reforms before moving to the other 2Rs. C. Continue adopting participatory, innovative, and iterative approaches that are based on analysis and research into the root causes of gender inequality. D. Concerning Senegal, emphasis should be put to scaling up the intervention to different regions and undertaking the same kind of assessments and research studies to provide strong foundation of innovative solutions.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics, Resource mobilization
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Integrate the unpaid care and domestic work dimension in all UN Women programmes on climate resilient agriculture and women's economic empowerment. This will be also done by embedding unpaid care and domestic work to the three Gender Equality Accelerators that the economic empowerment section is leading on, in particular on transforming the care economy. HQ: Silvia Lanzarini, Programme Specialist JP RWEE ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakhia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor 2026/05 Completed
Develop programme proposals in a participatory way for resource mobilization for scaling up the intervention considering the 3R and 5R frameworks based on research and evidence. This will be done as part of the regional and global efforts to mobilize resources to operationalize the UN Women gender equality accelerators. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Coordinator; ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakhia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed The Global team at HQ in consultation with all regions, developed the TransformCare Global Initiative, with the 3R Programme serving as a flagship initiative that informed and contributed to the development of this broader global framework. UN Women’s work on care across all regions is now consolidated under the TransformCare Global Initiative, a multi-partner, long-term global programme that builds on and scales up previous and ongoing initiatives supported by development partners. By leveraging this portfolio of work, TransformCare advances systemic change through coordinated action across more than 50 countries in six regions, representing over two thirds (67 per cent) of the global population. The initiative combines country and regional interventions with a strong global component to drive collective action and policy change on care systems. TransformCare is anchored in the UN Women Strategic Plan (2026–2029) as one of its Global Programmatic Frameworks and serves as a core pillar of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy. Funds were mobilized in 2025, and the WCA and ESA regions were included within this global funding envelope for 2026. This support will enable the continuation and strengthening of the results achieved through the 3R Programme, while ensuring that lessons learned and successful approaches are integrated into the broader TransformCare Global Initiative.
Recommendation: A. To continue implementing SAMCO programme related to the 5R programme, first commission and complete the South Africa baseline study (covering Time Use Survey as one of the objectives) The study should be conceptualized to create an opportunity for a broader understanding of the patterns of unpaid care work and their impact on the economic and social lives of women and girls. The aim of the proposed research should be to establish a baseline on non-market work (unpaid care) in South Africa. B. Currently, the South Africa programme requires overall Regional/Global support to strengthen the operational and administrative systems that support SAMCO 3R programme operations, including engaging the regional Gender Statistics Specialist, to support the conceptualization and processes related to statistical matters for sample surveys in the Baseline Survey. University of Town, whilst excellent in research, does not have the national infrastructure to do proper sampling and data collection. An alternative provider with proven national infrastructure and relevant experience, for instance, GeoScope, SA should be considered in this regard as recommended to ESARO Regional Gender Statistics Specialist during data collection.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Commission and complete the South Africa baseline study as basis for future programming on unpaid care work Ayanda Mvimbi, WEE Programme Specialist, SAMCO 2025/12 No Longer Applicable
Recommendation: A. To address structural causes of gender-based inequalities, increase the numbers of women and the agency of women to lead in the next phase of the programme, UN Women should develop a 5R centric women leadership programme to train more women to create a women leadership cohort with modules that include access of women to markets and means of production, deconstruction of social norms and stereotypes related to participation of women in male dominated occupations, HeForShe approaches, as well as other barriers to women’s economic participation. B. From the design stage, and progressively during the implementation of the programme, strengthen the planning of exit strategies for the various components, and ensure that actions are implemented that contribute to the sustainability of results.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Evidence, Data and statistics
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Develop a 5R centric women leadership programme to train more women to create a women leadership cohort with modules that include access of women to markets and means of production, deconstruction of social norms and stereotypes related to participation of women in male dominated occupations, HeForShe approaches, as well as other barriers to women’s economic participation. Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2025/12 Completed Through the new training on the care economy developed by UN Women, the global, regional and country teams have delivered the training to the Rwanda's national and local governments directors to support integrating the care economy into their national strategies and plans. The training was also attended by CSOs, including ActionAid that support the 3R programme implementation in Rwanda. As part of the phase II implementation, Rwanda is working with local partners, including ActionAid to tackle social norms to recognise the unequal and gendered distribution of unpaid care work and underline this as a community and societal issue. UN Women with ActionAid has developed Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials aimed at increasing awareness and challenging social norms to advance gender equality. This was coupled with an advocacy campaign that took place on the International Day of rural women in Nov 2024. Additional actions will take place in 2025, including capacity building (Training of Trainers) across districts that include women and men.
While writing proposals for the next phases of the programme, strengthen the planning of exit strategies for the various components. The 5R centric women leadership programme may also be inserted as part of the UN women global training manual on care, currently under development as part of the 3R phase II. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Analyst, Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakhia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed Global and regional capacity development was strengthened through the rollout of the Transforming Care Systems training curriculum. With co-financing from the Government of Germany (through the 3R Programme) and the Government of Sweden, the training was implemented across six regions and further expanded in 2025 to five regions: the Americas and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, Asia and the Pacific, West and Central Africa, and East and Southern Africa. The training reached more than 120 participants, including staff from five Regional Offices, 48 Country Offices, and 55 representatives from governments and partner institutions across 21 institutions. Participants enhanced their capacities to design, finance, and implement gender-responsive care policies and systems. Participants reported a high perceived impact score of 4.43 out of 5, reflecting strengthened capacities to support the development of care frameworks, apply costing methodologies, use evidence-based tools, and improve care service delivery and infrastructure planning. In West and Central Africa, these capacity-building efforts contributed to the development of the ECOWAS Regional Care Action Plan, engaging government officials from 12 Member States and demonstrating how global frameworks can be translated into regional policy action.
Recommendation: A. In the area of unpaid care work, UN Women is weak in private sector engagement (through WEP’S) and should explore potential partnerships with private sector entities in direct programme implementation at the national level and in raising funds for future interventions. Research should be carried out to find private companies and foundations potentially interested in collaborating and funding unpaid care work-related interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa should be approached to partner with UN Women in the next phase of the programme. B. In the next phase the 3R programme should emphasize the pivotal role that the private sector should play in promoting GEWE issues and addressing the needs of most vulnerable women. UN Women should proactively use existing UN System opportunities and promote development of innovative public and private partnerships with government and non-government affiliated agencies highlighting the crosscutting role of SDG 17 in acceleration of achievement of targets under the SDG 5 Gender Equality and other SDG goals. C. To ensure more synergies with other UN and non-UN agencies and actors to address structural causes of gender-based inequalities i.e., access of women to markets and means of production, deconstruction of social norms and stereotypes related to participation of women in male dominated occupations, as well as other barriers to women’s economic participation that stem from regional disparities and include some public-private partnerships may become instrumental in achieving nationalized targets on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, therefore, the catalytic role of the SDG 17 should be emphasized by UN Women and partners as a crosscutting issue in all their projects and interventions, including working more closely with other UN agencies working in the sector (ILO, UNICEF)
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
During the next phases of the programme, explore partnerships with the private sector on the basis of research to assess the most appropriate entities in the specific context, private-public partnerships, and collaborations with UN agencies in line with SDG17. At the global level in the phase II, the 3R programme will be aligned with the UN system wide approach to care, led by UN Women, that recognizes the value of partnering with a wide range of stakeholders, including the private sector. This action will also be taken forward as UN Women operationalize the gender equality accelerator on transforming care where the private sector is underlined as one of the key actors to work with. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Coordinator; Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed TransformCare continues to expand partnerships and investments to advance systemic change on care. The outcomes of the TransformCare Global Initiative, developed by the Global team at HQ in consultation with regions, focus on ensuring that “women, including informal, domestic, and migrant workers, access decent job opportunities in the purple economy, as well as in emerging sectors such as the green, blue, and digital economies.” The rationale underpinning this outcome is that enabling women—particularly informal, domestic, and migrant workers—to access quality employment opportunities in these sectors advances both gender equality and sustainable economic prosperity. Strengthening employers’ capacity to adopt care-supportive and family-friendly workplace policies, while empowering caregivers and care recipients to engage in social dialogue, contributes to the creation of more inclusive labour markets and improved working conditions. By promoting decent work standards and integrating care considerations into economic policies and practices, this outcome advances women’s economic empowerment and supports the development of more equitable, resilient, and care-responsive economies. In this context, the Global team, in coordination with the regions, the Strategic Planning and Development Division (SPD), and the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Secretariat, has undertaken a mapping of potential corporate foundations and private sector partners. Efforts are ongoing to strengthen these partnerships and mobilize further investment in TransformCare, while promoting the adoption and expansion of corporate care-related workplace policies and practices.
Recommendation: A. In the next phase of the programme, the capacity development portfolio on 5R should focus on improved knowledge generation and dissemination, capacity development pedagogy for unpaid care work, professionalized through standardization of capacity development offerings, longer training duration, and better sequencing of training activities. B. The advocacy and policy interventions delivered as part of capacity development should be positively applied at local levels within reasonable duration. At national levels there is need to coordinate and advocate with Governments and stakeholders and that requires more time to internalize the programme. C. Provide technical support for the comprehensive review of the minimum standards, integrated models, and guidelines, and other additional ECD guides to integrating not only gender and unpaid care work but also update the documents to be aligned with the current national, regional policies (Vision 2050, African Union (AU) Agenda 2063, EAC gender strategy.), and global targets announced through several instruments including SDGs, CEDEAW, Beijing Platform for Action, etc.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development, National ownership, Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
During the next phases of the programme, strengthen the following components: capacity building, knowledge generation and management, and advocacy at both local and national level. The phase II foreseen the development of a comprehensive training manual on the care economy that will ensure long-term, institutionalized knowledge on the care economy around the 5R framework. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Coordinator; Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed In addition to the global training curriculum on transforming care systems and the quarterly Community of Practice on Care, Decent Work, and Macroeconomics, a key achievement under the 3R Programme was strengthening the role of the public sector in financing care systems and advancing innovative financing mechanisms for gender equality. UN Women partnered with feminist economists and academic institutions to develop analytical frameworks and evidence on financing care systems, including three macroeconomic analyses examining fiscal space, external debt, concessional finance, Special Drawing Rights, and economic modelling through the Engendering Fiscal Space approach. The Engendering Fiscal Space tool, developed and published in 2025, supports governments and stakeholders in identifying and mobilizing sustainable financing pathways for gender equality and care investments. It provides guidance on policy options, including reforms in taxation, public expenditure, and the global financial architecture, to strengthen investments in care systems. The tool is currently being piloted in Rwanda, with completion of the national application expected in July 2026. A Peer Review Meeting on Engendering Fiscal Space, held on 18 June 2024, brought together leading experts on fiscal policy and the global financial architecture to strengthen the evidence base for gender-responsive fiscal policy reforms and public investment in care systems. This was followed by familiarization sessions in 2025 and 2026 through the UN Women Community of Practice on Care, Decent Work, and Macroeconomics, which facilitated knowledge exchange and supported the application of care and macroeconomic frameworks across programme implementation contexts. In parallel, the revised UN Women Care Costing and Investment Tool, published in 2026 and piloted in Rwanda, Georgia, and Viet Nam, further strengthened the evidence base for public investment in care systems. The tool enables governments to assess care service coverage gaps, financing requirements, and the economic and social returns of care investments, including job creation, reduced gender employment gaps, increased fiscal revenues, poverty reduction, and GDP growth impacts. It also incorporates modules that allow comparisons between care investments and investments in other sectors, as well as assessments of greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing its relevance for integrated economic, social, and climate planning. Together, these tools, analytical products, and capacity-strengthening processes have significantly reinforced the global evidence base and institutional capacity to position care systems as productive public investments with measurable macroeconomic, social, and environmental returns.
Recommendation: A. UN Women Strategic Notes should profile care work as a central programmatic arena of the UN Women triple core mandate, and clearly advocate at policy levels for national governments to systematically fund care work from national budgets, and local non-government funding sources, including providing grant funding to care facilities and ensuring equal distribution of these facilities amongst communities, especially in rural communities, remains a challenge. B. Support the establishment of ECD community funds managed jointly by elected community representatives, partners, and local leaders to address unpaid care givers efforts spent for childhood care services. The rules and conditions of operations are to be determined in framework documents.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Ensure that UN Women offices at all levels include unpaid care work in their Strategic Notes and other regional and global strategies. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Coordinator ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakhia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor 2026/05 Completed As part of the review of Regional and Country Strategic Notes, the Global team ensured that TransformCare Global Initiative indicators - aligned with the indicators tracked under the UN Women Strategic Plan - were considered and integrated, where relevant, into regional and country results frameworks. This alignment strengthened coherence between global programme objectives, regional and country priorities, and UN Women’s corporate results monitoring framework.
Support the establishment of ECD community funds managed jointly by elected community representatives, partners, and local leaders to address unpaid care givers efforts spent for childhood care services Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed Access to quality childcare services was strengthened through continued support to Early Childhood Development centres in Nyaruguru, Ngoma, and Kirehe districts. These interventions contributed to improving the quality and availability of childcare services, enabling families to access reliable care arrangements and supporting women’s participation in productive and economic activities. The capacities of 116 caregivers, including 104 women and 12 men, were strengthened through training on positive parenting practices, child-centred learning methodologies, and the development of teaching and learning materials using locally available resources. The enhanced capacities of caregivers contributed to improved quality of care services and strengthened support systems for children and families. Community awareness activities further increased understanding of the benefits of Early Childhood Development, including improved child health and nutrition, enhanced school readiness, and better social and cognitive development outcomes. The interventions also strengthened recognition of childcare services as an important investment for reducing the unequal distribution of unpaid care work and promoting more equitable sharing of care responsibilities among households, communities, and public institutions. The experience highlighted the importance of continuing to integrate water, sanitation and hygiene services, nutrition interventions, and education services within Early Childhood Development centres to sustain and expand the results achieved.
Recommendation: A. Commission dedicated baseline studies that provide disaggregated data on various vulnerabilities including people with disabilities. B. Crucial to maintain women and children with disabilities and their associations/cooperatives as partners and beneficiaries. ECDs necessitate extra services, equipment, and competences to host children safely and adequately with disabilities. This can be considered through partnerships with specialized organisations if UN Women cannot intervene directly on this for lack of expertise.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Make sure to include people with disabilities in future programming, including baselines. The phase II approach to unpaid care aligns with the forthcoming UN system wide approach on the care economy and the UN Women Gender Equality accelerator on transforming care. As this entails looking at care throughout the lifecycle of a person and through the intersectional spectrum, women with disabilities will be included in the 3R phase II work. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Coordinator; ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakhia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor 2026/05 Completed Persons with disabilities were explicitly considered in the second phase of the 3R Programme, reflecting the adoption of the UN System paper on principles for transforming care systems. In Rwanda, for example, the mapping of care initiatives demonstrated that gender-transformative approaches to unpaid care work extend beyond service provision and address the structural drivers of inequality, including discriminatory social norms that reinforce the perception of care as primarily women’s responsibility. The findings showed that gender-transformative initiatives contributed to a more equitable distribution of care responsibilities within households and encouraged greater engagement of men in caregiving roles. The assessment also identified Early Childhood Development centres as an important care solution in Rwanda, while highlighting critical gaps in care services for older persons and persons with disabilities. Evidence generated through the assessment of time- and energy-saving equipment and technologies demonstrated measurable reductions in unpaid care work. Households that included persons with disabilities reported average time savings of 4.5 days per week, compared with 3.5 days per week among the overall sample. In addition, average household firewood consumption decreased from 6.12 bundles to 1.23 bundles per week, representing an approximate 80 per cent reduction. These findings underscore the importance of inclusive care systems that respond to the diverse needs of care providers and care recipients, including persons with disabilities, while addressing structural inequalities and strengthening gender-responsive approaches to care.
Recommendation: The 3R programme should continue current efforts to operationalize its Communication, Knowledge Management & Advocacy Strategy in the following areas in all the operational countries: ? Advocate for the institutionalization of recognition, reduction, and redistribution of unpaid care work to advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. ? Increase the attention paid by participating governments, community leaders, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), private sector, and international and regional partners to the care economy and unpaid care work interventions; and ? Ensure more effective consistency in messaging, knowledge management and policy advocacy, and strengthen outreach in communicating the 3R Programme results both internally and externally. These should be done through: Policy dialogues at national level; Policy dialogues at local level; and Production of articles and successful stories.
Management Response:
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: National ownership
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Continue operationalizing and strengthen the communication, knowledge management and advocacy strategy. A knowledge management and communication strategy will be developed, and in additional to policy dialogues at all levels, the key actors will participate in the UN Women community of practice on Care, decent work, and macroeconomics. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Coordinator; Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed A Communication, Knowledge Management, and Advocacy Strategy was developed with the support of a Knowledge Management Analyst Consultant. The strategy strengthened the systematic tracking, dissemination, and uptake of knowledge products generated under the programme, while supporting learning and knowledge exchange across teams and partners. As part of its implementation, the Knowledge Management Analyst Consultant maintained oversight of key knowledge products and supported their dissemination through internal knowledge-sharing mechanisms, including the quarterly UN Women Community of Practice on Care, Decent Work, and Macroeconomics. These platforms facilitated continued learning, exchange of experiences, and the application of evidence and good practices across programme implementation contexts.
Recommendation: In the next phase, the 3R programme should focus on policy development and advocacy with targeted policies and legal provisions that provide services, gender focused social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, and creating more paid jobs in the care economy, to urgently accelerate progress on women’s economic empowerment. The emphasis will be on getting data/evidence in filling the knowledge gaps and strengthening capacities and dialogue around 5R, including integration of the private sector to spur job creation, market access and positive culture [motivation, creativity, productivity and attracting new talent] as entry point to strengthen childcare services, and services, social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between women and men.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Knowledge management
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
During the next phases of the programme, focus on policy development and advocacy with targeted policies and legal provisions that provide services, gender focused social protection, and basic infrastructure, promoting sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, and creating more paid jobs in the care economy with an emphasis on generating data/evidence to fill the knowledge gaps and strengthening capacities and dialogue around 5R. Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed Access to time- and labour-saving technologies increased significantly, contributing to reductions in the time women spend on unpaid care work and creating opportunities for greater participation in productive and income-generating activities. In May 2024, UN Women, in collaboration with ActionAid Rwanda, distributed 756 energy-efficient cooking stoves and 82 rainwater harvesting tanks across five districts in Rwanda. The intervention reached 838 beneficiaries, including 651 women and 105 men who received energy-efficient cooking stoves and 71 women and 11 men who benefited from rainwater harvesting tanks. The technologies were targeted toward households facing significant constraints in access to energy and water infrastructure and sought to address persistent gender inequalities in access to climate-resilient technologies. The rainwater harvesting tanks contributed to improved water access, reduced household expenditures, enhanced water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions, and supported household economic activities. These interventions responded to existing inequalities in access to water services identified by the Fifth Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV5), which found that only 7 per cent of female-headed households had access to piped water at home compared to 10 per cent of male-headed households. In rural areas, only 16 per cent of households had access to improved drinking water within 200 metres of their homes, while 34 per cent lived within 500 metres of a water source. The impact assessment of time- and energy-saving technologies demonstrated substantial reductions in the time devoted to unpaid care work and significant environmental benefits. The findings showed reductions of up to 80 per cent in fuelwood consumption, accompanied by substantial reductions in carbon emissions and considerable time savings for women. These improvements enabled women to dedicate more time to income-generating activities, productive work, education, and participation in community life. By 2025, interventions implemented under the 3R programme in partnership with ActionAid Rwanda had reached 30,514 people. A total of 898 programme participants benefited directly from time-saving technologies, demonstrating the contribution of investments in care infrastructure and climate-resilient technologies to women’s economic empowerment and climate action.
Recommendation: Continue supporting and advocating policies on unpaid care work. As part of policy focused capacity development of national stakeholders – conduct capacity gap assessments focusing on women and underrepresented groups for meaningful engagement with relevant key government ministries and service providers; arrange Training of Trainers (ToT) for UN Women staff and IP representatives on training modules adapted based on the findings of capacity gap assessments - focusing on inclusive social protection, access to justice and economic empowerment; conduct capacity training for the IPs, women and underrepresented groups, selected rights based CSOs, on inclusive social protection, access to justice and economic empowerment at the local/district level; organize capacity building trainings of IPs on disability and gender disaggregated data collection at national and district levels according to protocol guideline developed by UN Women and other partner UN agencies; organize IP consultations to prioritise key areas for policy reform among relevant key government ministries; and organize capacity development training of IPs for discriminatory law reforms and advocacy with governments.
Management Response:
More detail
Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Capacity development, Advocacy
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
In the next phases of the programme, continue supporting and advocating policies on unpaid care work. As part of policy focused capacity development of national stakeholders – conduct capacity gap assessments focusing on women and underrepresented groups for meaningful engagement with relevant key government ministries and service providers; arrange Training of Trainers (ToT) for UN Women staff and IP representatives on training modules adapted based on the findings of capacity gap assessments The phase II foreseen the development of a comprehensive training manual on the care economy that will ensure long-term, institutionalized knowledge on the care economy around the 5R framework. HQ: Brunella Canu, Porgramme Coordinator; Amber Parkes, Policy and knowledge management specialist Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2025/12 Completed As part of the 3R programme - global component, UN Women has developed a training on the care economy. This was piloted in April 2024 and finalized in September 2024. The training is based on the latest frameworks (5R + 6th R on 'Resourcing') and aligned with the UN System guidance on the Transforming the care system (led by UN Women and co-written with ohter UN agencies following the request by the Deputy - Secretary General). The ESA Region has adapted the training to the regional contexts and aready delivered the teaining to the African Developmnet Bank. The global, regional and country teams have delivered the training to the Rwanda's national and local governemts directors to support integrating the care economy into their national strategies and plans. The training was also attended by CSOs, including ActionAid that support the 3R programme implemetation in Rwanda. Additonal Trainings to UN Women personnel and partners are planned in 2025, including ToT to support sustainability and exist strategies.
Recommendation: A. Using lessons learned from this multicounty programme, the evaluation team recommends that deep after-action organisational development review be carried out on 2 case studies of the programme: Rwanda and South Africa. Results from these 2 country experiences of the same programme revealed vast differences and merit management attention with a view to develop future business continuity plans during emergencies (e.g., COVID-19), and develop resource planning measures such as bringing in surge teams to support a struggling Multicounty Office as was the case with SAMCO. B. Overall, Rwanda had excellent results, meeting most and exceeding some targets within the same short time span and during COVID. SAMCO had the opposite experience. Questions to answer include: Why did COVID-19 negatively impact UN Women SAMCO worse than Rwanda and Senegal and what are possible mitigation measures for the future? After HQ and Regional Office noticed repeated failures of milestones in SAMCO, how come UN Women did not intervene with surge support? C. SAMCO is not set up to deliver multicounty programming. The evaluation recommends that UN Women at Regional and HQ levels consider providing coordinated financial and human resource surge capacity for 24 months to create needed levels of operational, systems, human and financial capacities fit for multicounty programming. D. For Senegal, continue cultivating existing partnerships with state institutions and strengthen collaboration with other strategic actors who may be involved in unpaid care work.
Management Response:
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Description:
Management Response Category: Accepted
Thematic Area: Women economic empowerment (SPs before 2018)
Operating Principles: Promoting inclusiveness/Leaving no one behind
Organizational Priorities: Not applicable
UNEG Criteria: Gender equality
Key Actions
Responsible Deadline Status Comments
Grounding new phases of the programme on this first phase good practices, lessons learned and recommendations. HQ: Brunella Canu, Programme Coordinated; ESARO: Mehjabeen Alarakhia, WEE Advisor WCARO: Elena Ruiz Abril, WEE Policy Advisor Rwanda: Tess Kazuba, 3R National Coordinator Senegal: Rokhaya Gayes, 3R National Coordinator 2026/05 Completed The second phase of the programme was grounded in the good practices, lessons learned, and recommendations identified through the Phase I evaluation. An inception workshop was convened in 2023 to ensure that these lessons and proven approaches were effectively integrated into the design and implementation of the new phase. The final evaluation of the 3R Programme Phase II further identified valuable lessons, practices, and recommendations that are now informing the UN Women TransformCare Global Initiative. TransformCare brings together UN Women’s work on care across regions, building on the evidence, experiences, and achievements generated through previous and ongoing initiatives, including the 3R Programme.