About
AmplifyChange launched in 2014 as a project by a consortium led by MannionDaniels with the African Women’s Development Fund and Global Fund for Women. In early 2020, AmplifyChange registered as an independent not-for-profit organisation. With continued shrinking civil spaces, SRHR assaults, and the gendered pandemic effect, civil society organisations need support to advocate for SRHR more than ever.
Most of our grants (89%) are small grants to small groups, and we have other grant types available for them to form coalitions. The majority of our grants are based in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and our reach also extends to the Middle East and Latin America. We have identified 25 countries that are most off-track on the AmplifyChange priorities and we do not want these countries to be overlooked. We call these ‘not-to-be-missed countries’ (NTBMC) and currently 39% of our grants have gone to ‘not-to-be-missed’ countries. 97% of AmplifyChange grants are implemented in countries where civic space is rated as Closed, Repressed, or Obstructed by CIVICUS monitor.
We are a challenge fund – we accept applications on a competitive basis through scheduled funding rounds. We have an independent and transparent process to assess applications. All applicants aim to empower young people, men and women to realise their sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Read our 2021-2025 Strategy
Read our 2021 Annual Report
Our priorities
Eliminating gender-based violence, including sexual violence, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and Child Marriage
Gender-based violence includes sexual violence, domestic violence, child marriage and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).
Definition
Gender-based violence is a widespread human rights violation, affecting all genders but most heavily felt by women and intersex communities. Gender-based violence is rooted in traditional ideas about gender which cause physical, psychological and emotional harm. The burden of gender-based violence falls heavily on women, but whilst men are more likely to be perpetrators of violence, our definition recognises that ideas of masculinity can also have major negative consequences on men and boys. Violence negates the fulfilment of sexual pleasure and physical and mental well-being.
The Situation
Approximately three million girls undergo FGM/C each year. Rates are highest in parts of West Africa, the Middle East, the Sahel and East Africa but the practice also occurs in significant pockets of Asia.
Approximately 12 million girls are married by the age of 18 each year.
Approximately one in three women have experienced some form of gender-based violence during their lifetime. Reporting of sexual violence is low, so whilst women report widespread victimisation the level of rape, sexual assault and harassment is difficult to establish.
What do we fund?
We receive more applications on gender-based violence than any other theme. Our investment strategy is led by your ideas and initiatives. Our grantees work on outlawing child marriage, tackling online bullying and misogyny, enabling women who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting to rediscover sexual pleasure, or preventing boys from conforming to toxic masculinity. Our grantees are leaders in the movement for a violence-free world.
Addressing the causes of unsafe abortion including decriminalisation of abortion
We all have the right to make decisions about our own bodies – including if, when and how we have children. Billions of women around the world are denied the choice to have a safe abortion due to legal restrictions, medical regulations and widespread stigma. Stigma around abortion extends beyond the decision to end a pregnancy, limiting women’s return to a pleasurable sex life post-abortion.
Definition
Abortion can only be safe and comprehensive if laws, health systems and broader social norms make it possible. Fundamentally, this means making or keeping abortion legal.
Governments and society have a duty to make provisions for dignified service delivery – in private, comfort and with the widest possible choice of methods.
Change often happens incrementally, and technology has made it possible to reduce the risks to health and well-being of undergoing an abortion in restrictive settings.
The Situation
According to the World Health Organisation, around 25 million unsafe abortions are estimated to take place worldwide each year, almost all in developing countries
Each year between 4.7% – 13.2% of maternal deaths can be attributed to unsafe abortion.
Laws are especially restrictive in The Global South. Stigma is widespread but can be challenged through civil society action.
What do we fund?
We are one of the largest investors in safe abortion advocacy in the Global South. We support local organisations, mostly led by women, in the most stigmatised settings. Our investments include campaigning to remove legal and policy barriers on safe abortion, support to the expansion of post abortion care and access to information about safely using medical methods of abortion. Our grantees are changing the debate, demonstrating that local, southern-led activism can change laws, strengthen health systems and make abortion safe, dignified and available for all.
Challenging stigma and discrimination, attitudes and laws that undermine human rights, including based on gender or sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals
Across the world, perceptions of immorality or deviance from sexual norms contribute to isolation, stereotyping and otherwise discriminate against individuals or groups based on their sexuality or gender identity. This stigma can often be society-wide and can be institutionalised through criminalisation or the policies and culture within the police, health system, education and state institutions. Stigma is increasingly cultivated online.
Definition
Challenging stigma means dealing with the root causes of discrimination from societal norms, laws and policies. It also means dealing with the public health consequences of stigma, as well as the impact on sexual pleasure and wellbeing. Stigma that restricts sexual and reproductive health and rights are diverse, cutting across AmplifyChange’s priority themes. We fund the strengthening of stigmatised sections of civil society – especially Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) individuals. We also support activism by and for sex workers.
The Situation
It is challenging to measure the scale of stigma and discrimination since reaching those most affected can be complex. There is increasing recognition of stigma against LGBTI individuals and groups, including their higher vulnerability to HIV, violence and mental health problems. Homophobic legislation is widespread throughout the world and very few countries have created a legal framework to provide full equality for LGBTI populations. Sex workers are heavily stigmatised and amongst the most vulnerable to HIV, sexual abuse and other forms of violence, including violence from state institutions such as the police.
What do we fund?
We are one of the main sources of funding for LGBTI rights activism. Our grants have contributed to major legal reforms to improve the lives of millions, such as the decriminalisation of same-sex relationships in India. Our grantees have worked with law makers and enforcers, as well as health workers and teachers to tackle homophobia and transphobia.
We take steps to ensure that a large share of our grants support organisations led by members of stigmatised communities.
Improving sexual health of young people and girls, including comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), promoting menstrual health and youth-friendly service delivery
The rapid biological and psychological changes that take place during adolescence affect all areas of life, including sexual and reproductive health. Young people’s first experiences of sexuality, including sexual
Young people make up over 50% of the population in some developing countries, yet their voices and concerns relating to sexual and reproductive health are often overlooked or neglected.
Definition
We define young people as 10 to 24 years old. Adolescents are those aged 10 to 19 years old.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education aims to ensure that young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to make responsible choices about their sexual and social relationships. Quality sexuality education aims to transform gender norms, tackle stigma related to sexual orientation and reproductive choices. It also includes elements of sex positivity and communication about pleasure.
Menstruation is a normal biological process and a key sign of reproductive health. Yet girls suffer by being ostracised from families, communities and schools when they have their periods.
Youth-friendly services respond to young people’s sexual and reproductive health needs without judgement and protect anonymity. Quality services respond to the diversity of young people’s lives and needs and are designed in conjunction with young people themselves.
The Situation
Each year, there are over six million unintended pregnancies among adolescents, most of whom do not have access to modern contraceptive methods. Among almost 21.2 million women who experience unsafe abortion globally each year, almost half are young women.
After the onset of puberty, the risk of depressive disorders increases substantially among girls who remain 1.5-2 times more likely than boys to be diagnosed with depression. This feature of adolescence is thought to be closely linked to the role of rigid and exploitative gender norms.
Across the world women and girls are stigmatised because of menstruation and there is a general lack of information on how to manage menstruation with dignity.
What do we fund?
We are an extensive funder of advocacy for comprehensive sexuality education as a part of the national curriculum. We support civil society to hold government to account for following commitments to expand and improve the quality of comprehensive sexuality education.
As digital access rapidly increases, online strategies have become an increasingly important compliment to classroom-based or other face-to-face sex education. We also support initiatives to hold health authorities to account for providing youth-friendly services.
We have an extensive network of grantees working to tackle stigma related to menstrual health and increase access to menstrual health products.
Increasing access to comprehensive reproductive health services for poor, vulnerable and marginalised people
Developing countries experience high levels of unmet need for quality sexual and reproductive health services. Inequalities are dramatic and access to quality services is only possible for a minority of citizens. Inequalities are typically based on financial means and geography with significant urban and rural distinctions. Lack of access is also felt by many vulnerable groups, including people living with disabilities, ethnic or religious minorities. The Global South faces a much higher burden of internal and cross-border displacement due to conflict, poverty and the climate emergency. Migrant populations often have limited access to sexual and reproductive health services and face additional vulnerabilities.
Definition
Access to sexual and reproductive health services is dependent on affordability, physical accessibility and the acceptability of services – not just on the availability and quality of care and supplies. People who are marginalised by society or the economy are typically denied equal access to sexual and reproductive health, and so cannot fulfil their human rights. Global and local campaigning for Universal Health Coverage – defined by the World Health Organisation as “all people having access to needed health services of sufficient quality to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user the financial hardship” – creates new opportunities to strengthen access to sexual and reproductive health services for poor, vulnerable and marginalised people.
The Situation
There is underrepresentation of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in Universal Health Coverage debates and programmes. Civil society can play a key role in ensuring that sexual and reproductive health and rights are represented in health insurance schemes, public health care commissioning and government budgets. Civil society also plays a critical role in ensuring that governments are held to account for their commitments to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
People living with disabilities can face multiple disadvantages that constitute their inability to fulfil their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Visually impaired, blind, hearing impaired and deaf girls for example are amongst the most vulnerable to rape and incest.
What do we fund?
We are a major investor in campaigns to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of people living with disabilities. We seek to strengthen civil society efforts to ensure that sexual and reproductive health rights are met by local Universal Health Coverage initiatives. We provide extensive support in countries affected by high levels of conflict, poverty and the climate emergency where levels of migration are high.
Who we are
