The Equal, Safe and Free Fund makes it first grants – a partnership fund for LGBT+ rights

The Baring Foundation is pleased to share that the Equal, Safe and Free Fund has awarded its first grants.

Equal, Safe and Free is a new multi-donor Fund supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and leading private foundations (Baring Foundation, Oak Foundation, Foundation for a Just Society and Foundation for a Just Society International).

ESF aims to build the capacity of and support grassroots LGBT+ human rights networks and organisations in sub-Saharan Africa, together with the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands, to increase their reach, effectiveness, and impact. The Fund is worth £25 million over four years.

Applications opened late last year and ESF has now awarded its first grants to: The Other Foundation, an African trust that advances equality and freedom in southern Africa with a particular focus on sexual orientation and gender identity; UHAI EASHRI, Africa’s first indigenous activist fund supporting sexual and gender minorities and sex worker human rights in eastern Africa; and ISDAO (Initiative Sankofa D’Afrique de L’Ouest), an activist-led grant-maker dedicated to building a West African movement that advocates for sexual diversity and sexual rights.

These organisations will each receive almost £5.3 million each over the next four years from the Equal, Safe and Free partnership.

David Sampson, Deputy Director of the Baring Foundation says:

“Conditions for LGBT+ communities in some sub-Saharan African countries have become increasingly hostile over the last few years. This includes the roll-back of established rights, state-perpetrated and interpersonal violence and increased risk of social and economic exclusion. We are delighted to be partnering with other funders on this ground-breaking fund which represents a vital uplift of support for people and communities under threat.”