SAGP Annual Review Meeting: Insights, Impact, Challenges, and Opportunities
From January 23-24, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the South Asia Grants Program (SAGP) held its Annual Review Meeting, bringing together its regional program teams, regional CSO partners, embassy officials, and representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. SAGP supports Civil Society Organizations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to tackle governance challenges, combat disinformation, promote gender equality, and address environmental issues in the region. Since its launch in September 2019, the program has supported 90 CSO partners in South Asia and is currently in its second phase, which will conclude in December 2024.
The review highlighted the program’s key achievements, which span a range of thematic areas, including supporting grassroots CSO, influencing national-level policy changes, countering disinformation, advocating for marginalized and vulnerable populations, and addressing information gaps in public policy spaces. The sessions also assessed the impacts, challenges, opportunities, and learnings witnessed since the program’s inception.
Presentations were made by each of the country representatives from The Asia Foundation offices in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, outlining the political and economic environment of each country and future projections.
During the review, the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, Douglas Sonnek, recognized the SAGP and celebrated CSOs for fostering accountability, transparency, and a free South Asia, which will benefit citizens across the region.
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