Chronically underrepresented in the political life of El Salvador, women from a cross section of national political parties came together recently in San Salvador to lay out a National Legislative Assembly program to move the nation toward more gender equity.

Over two-thirds of the global population living with HIV/AIDS resides in Southern Africa. NDI has been working throughout the region to strengthen parliamentary leadership and outreach on HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care.

NDI projects have helped to bridge the knowledge gap between members of parliament and public health experts, strengthen relationships between elected representatives and civic groups, promote dialogue and information sharing with the private sector and enable legislators to carry out their oversight function on HIV/AIDS policy issues.  

Public access, transparency and balance of power in government were among topics covered in a recent study mission to the United States by members of the Cambodian National Assembly (MPs) seeking to strengthen democracy in their country.

The smallest of the former Yugoslav republics, Montenegro achieved independence through peaceful referendum in 2006 and is on course to join the European Union and NATO. But like some other countries in the region, it still faces challenges that point to the need for more transparency and accountability in its governance system before it can meet the EU’s membership requirements.

Al Quds Center for Political Studies recently published the first reports ever prepared on parliamentary monitoring in Jordan. They provide information and analysis to Jordanian citizens and civic groups on various elements of parliament’s performance.

Congressional staff members from Colombia, Guatemala and Peru had a valuable opportunity to exchange information during a recent video conference program on legislative strengthening put on by NDI and the World Bank Institute (WBI).  The video conference series—the second in two years involving NDI and the WBI—brought the participants together to explore good practices in the areas of lawmaking, effective committees, and oversight and transparency.