3.6 Coordination and Networking Working with other partners, the consortium has been attending Victim Friendly Systems and networking meetings coordinated by the Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development. The partners are working towards increasing availability and utilisation of GBV services by survivors as well as reducing tolerance for GBV in communities, using a multi-sectoral approach. The Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development is the lead Ministry in coordinating Gender Based Violence GBV policies and programmes through a multisectoral approach. It has also been mandated to administer the Domestic Violence Act [Chapter 5: 16]. The Anti-Domestic Violence Council was established under section 16 of the Act to oversee the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act. The Ministry is decentralised to provincial, district and ward levels, making it accessible to all especially women and other vulnerable groups at the community level. In Bindura and Makoni districts, projects officers have been invited by other partners to raise awareness to staff on GBV. The three partners have been contributing their expertise in the coordinating meetings by stakeholders such as the MWAGCD and the Department of Welfare and Protection Services in the districts. 3.7 Strengthening the Coordinating Role of Government Among the key components of the project was its reliance on the Ministry of Women Affairs to play the coordinating role. To the three organisations, this enhanced project activities implementation as ministry officials were responsible for mobilising communities and other stakeholders. This was very effective in revising and strengthening structures that prevent and protect women and children from GBV, such as the Victim Friendly Court System. “The multi-sectoral approach has proved to be effective in the implementation of the project,’’ comments Slyvia Chirawu-Mugomba, the WLSA Director. ‘’We have used a holistic approach – cultural, economic, and medical, among others; ‘’ she says. Government officials also recognised the effectiveness of this approach. Emillio Chihono is the District Development Officer in Makoni. He said the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) project is filling an essential gap – that of building the capacity of district partners in various areas and themes. “The positive impact of the project is that it’s complementing government efforts.” He said the project has strengthened the Makoni District Anti Gender-Based Violence Council which hold monitoring meetings to keep it in-line with national objectives. This has resulted in a joint programming model, reporting on results as opposed to activity reporting, said Chihono.