UN Women supports introduction of Gender Audit Manual 

Through the support of UN Women in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government has taken various steps to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment as part of its commitments to realize its gender focused targets aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and its Ten-Year Perspective Plan (2021-2030). 

The first-ever Gender Audit manual developed with the support of UN Women and its implementation by the Office of the Federal Auditor General (OFAG) is among the tangible results. The gender manual, targeting audit experts at the Office of the Federal Audit General, aims to enable an effective performance audit of gender equality at ministries and other government agencies. Through the support of UN Women, the audit experts at the institution were also capacitated through various trainings on gender equality auditing including on proper application of the manual. 

On the improvement of the institutions’ performance after the manual got introduced, Mr. Tesfaye Alemu, the Performance Audit Manager at OFAG explained, “Before we started using the manual, there were a few general criteria that we used to apply for gender audit. It wasn’t as detailed as the one in the new gender audit manual to the extent that the findings were not  even visible. When we used the manual, which is comprehensive, critical findings were identified.”

Mr. Tesfaye also cited the findings from a pilot performance audit at the Ministry of Health, which looked into selected hospitals. “We found the cost of gender gaps in the health sector, including unsafe child delivery, improper family planning, and lack of focus on specific diseases that women are exposed to. These issues resulted because of lack of gender awareness, negligence, and weak or absence of policies for accountability. Based on our recommendations channeled through the parliament, the Ministry has prepared an action plan to accordingly address these issues,” said Tesfaye. 

Ms. Tsige Tilahun, Women, Youth and Children Directorate Directress at OFAG, described the manual as a groundbreaking one not just for OFAG but also for the country. “Application of the audit manual is part of our annual strategic plan. Each department at OFAG implements and periodically reports with recommendations on the findings. It is assisting us to advance gender equality. Now, we realize more than ever that without proper gender audit, auditing is not complete in our institution.” 

On the benefits of the manual at country level, Ms. Tsige added, “Before this manual, there wasn’t a systemized gender audit standard at country level and now its availability benefits every sector involved. The outcomes of the pilot gender auditing  on ministries are  also benefiting more institutions at country level. For instance, at the Ministry of Health, where health services are provided throughout the country, the audit was  done involving well-known hospitals in Addis Ababa and other regions. The findings enhanced awareness at various levels, from federal to community. The report on the findings to the parliament is also channeled through public media. This  is alerting those audited to take actions as well as  to create awareness to those not involved, for preventing similar findings by properly considering gender issues in their planning and implementations.”

UN Women Ethiopia Country Office under its National Planning Program has been partnering with Office of the Federal Audit General (OFAG) since 2021 to assist them advance gender equality through their audit report and recommendations. The development of a Gender Audit Manual and capacity enhancement are among the key areas of support provided by UN Women. Using the manual, a pilot gender auditing was conducted in the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture, and findings and recommendations for actions were presented to parliament as part of the 2023 annual report of OFAG. The partnership work with the Federal Audit General is  financially being supported by Sweden, Government of Norway, and Netherlands.