A/HRC/44/3 E/CN.6/2020/8 policies to protect girls with disabilities from violence; 97.7 per cent explained that the seminars had increased their knowledge of the human rights of people with disabilities. 25. The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network, funder by the trust fund, is implementing a project in the South Sudanese state of Wau to increase the knowledge of students, parents, teachers and administrators about gender-based violence through awareness-raising events in schools in the displaced communities of Wau. Also, women activists are being empowered to prevent gender based violence more effectively by providing them with advocacy and engagement training, promoting networking among activists and facilitating their attendance at national meetings. Activities are being organized to engage the broader Wau community, in particular men and boys, and encourage community members to help to prevent gender-based violence. The Director General of the Ministr y of Gender and the directors general and directors of planning of the ministry responsible for education and youth attended a stakeholder meeting and publicly committed to supporting the project’s goals of ending gender-based violence in schools. 26. In Viet Nam, the Institute for Development and Community Health implemented an initiative that was focused on intimate partner violence against pregnant and lactating women in Kien Xuong District, Thai Binh Province. In a final evaluation, it was found that the project had increased the capacity for home visits and screening for intimate partner violence, and that household visits and counselling activities were an effective means for broaching issues around gender-based violence. As a result of such visits, 1,241 pregnant and lactating women received information on pregnancy care services, breastfeeding and intimate partner violence. It was also found that husbands and mothers-in-law actively participated in counselling and communication activities to raise their awareness regarding sexual and gender-based violence. Nearly 99 per cent of the pregnant and lactating mothers interviewed regarding the project stated that they had received counselling on health care. 27. In Fiji, the trust fund is supporting a project by the organization femLINKpacific to raise awareness of the root causes of violence against women and girls by using the organization’s rural women leaders community network and women’s weather watch system. Although recent years have seen an improvement in legal and policy efforts to end violence against women and girls in Fiji, cultural, structural and information gaps continue to be a hindrance, particularly in rural areas. The project works with existing networks in rural, urban and informal settleme nts. In 2019, a total of 30 beneficiaries gained access to innovative knowledge products that were focused on communicating the root causes of violence through the project. In the first phase of the initiative, eight female rural community leaders and part icipants in motherdaughter dialogues were identified. In addition, 198 women and girls were engaged through meetings convened at the district and divisional levels. B. Improving access to multisectoral services 28. Improving access for women and girls to essential, safe and adequate multisectoral services is one of the priority areas of focus for trust fund support. Grantees worked to ensure that women and girls had better access to specialized support services such as psychological counselling, medical services and shelters, as well as to justice, through the provision of legal aid. Training of service providers is also an important component of projects that are aimed at enhancing access to essential, safe and adequate services for women and girls. 29. In North Macedonia, a small grant is being utilized by Women’s Forum Tetovo for a project aimed at empowering survivors of domestic violence in the Tetovo 8/15 19-21597