Banyan Global is implementing the Gender Integration Technical Assistance (GITA) II Task Order, which provides on-demand, rapid-response, short-term technical assistance (STTA) to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Missions and Bureaus across multiple sectors and in crisis and non-crisis settings.

Under GITA II, Banyan Global partnered with USAID/Madagascar to conduct a gender analysis to inform the mission’s FY2020-2025 Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). Using Banyan Global’s tested gender analysis research tools, a four-person research team identified advances, gaps, and opportunities on gender equality and women’s empowerment within USAID/Madagascar’s priority development objectives (DOs). The DOs for USAID/Madagascar’s next CDCS include: 1) Improved human capacity to contribute to the country’s journey to self-reliance; 2) Government accountability and effectiveness improved to mitigate cyclical political instability; and; 3) More sustainable economic opportunities available for poor populations (primarily within the agricultural and environmental sectors). The gender analysis presents findings and recommendations on several cross-cutting themes within each DO, including on gender-based violence and the private sector’s role in life-improvement for women and girls.

The research also provided inputs on gender equality for the mission’s health, population, and nutrition project appraisal document in alignment with the new CDCS, as well as for four value chains (cocoa, vanilla, aquaculture, and tourism) under global development alliances (GDAs) for the Health, Ecosystems and Agriculture for Resilient, Thriving Societies (HEARTH) program.