The Global Programme Increasing Accountability in Financing for Gender Equality’ was developed to increase financing for national gender equality commitments in sixteen countries and to strengthen government and donor accountability on financing decisions and practices. Drawing on diverse country experiences, this brief showcases the programme’s comprehensive approach together with its achievements and lessons.

The programme was launched in late 2006 to strengthen democratic governance and promote women's human rights through support for policy planning and budgeting processes to incorporate a gender perspective. The programme was implemented in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, and Moldova with funding from the Austrian Development Cooperation and Cooperation with Eastern Europe and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The series of Gender Briefing Notes is designed to help EC officials working in development cooperation to easily identify and address gender equality issues in specific sectors and thematic areas. This paper focuses on gender budgeting and its usefulness in the context of new aid instruments. It complements the "Mainstreaming Gender Equality in EC Development Cooperation" toolkit. It highlights how gender budgeting may be used by both partner countries and donors to make programme-based approaches more gender-sensitive.