Jul 2007 | IFAD

In Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, IFAD has initiated a project to provide alternatives to migration and prevention of trafficking by developing new income generating activities, diversifying livelihood options and reducing barriers to entrepreneurship, specifically empowering high-risk vulnerable groups, with a focus on women and youth.IFAD worked on women’s empowerment in the Mahbubnagar region of Andhra Pradesh, India, in partnership with UNIFEM, The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty and the Kovel Foundation, by organizing women into self-help groups and non-timber forest products collectors’ associations. An evaluation of the project suggested that participants’ control over their income increased, and also resulted in a substantial reduction in the drunkenness of men and violence within the home.