At the recent Shelter Indaba on Strengthening GBV Shelter Services, the need for system-level change was clear. Our services are essential, but to move beyond immediate response to sustainable impact and resilience, we must adopt a more strategic and evidence-based approach.
UNFPA South Africa supports the call for action across these three non-negotiable pillars:
- Align Service with Evidence :
Strategic Deployment: We must ensure shelter services and resources are located and scaled based on clear, reliable evidence. This means actively leveraging data from identified GBV hotspots to scale-up prevention and response where the incidence is highest. Impact must follow the evidence. - Strengthen Implementation & Accountability:
Urgency in Targets: With the time-bound targets for the first five years of the 2020–2030 National Strategic Plan (NSP) having recently expired, there is an urgent need for a strengthened accountability review of the resources and results achieved by all sectors during that initial phase. This evidence-informed reflection is critical to ensure lessons are learned. Concurrently, we must collaboratively drive the urgent development of measurable targets and priorities for the next five years of the NSP (2025–2030). Our collective focus, particularly on the coverage and quality of essential services (such as shelter services), must be clearly defined by these new targets, as accountability and effective implementation are impossible without them. - Innovate Funding for Sustainability :
CSOs are the backbone: The vital services provided by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) require a stable foundation. We call for increased private sector commitment and the diversification of sustainable, long-term funding to strengthen existing innovative financing models, such as the GBVF Response Fund. These resources must be urgently channeled to support and scale essential services, with a particular focus on enhancing the sustainability and quality of shelter services.
Ultimately, the strength of our response is only as great as the systems we put in place. By fixing the roadmap, following the data, and funding the frontline, we will not only strengthen shelter services, we will fortify the foundation of our entire national GBV response.
