WOMEN’S projects are the focus of funding through the annual NSW Government’s Investing in Women funding program.

Member for Coffs Harbour Gurmesh Singh is encouraging the Coffs Coast to get involved.

Local organisations with projects empowering women and promoting their wellbeing can apply for a share of the funding.

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Applications are open until Friday, 23 April.

“Coffs Coast women can have greater access to programs designed to improve their financial, physical and mental wellbeing”, said Mr Singh.

Minister for Women Bronnie Taylor said the initiatives funded under the program would support women in a range of objectives from employment and training to leadership development.

“From finding ways to improve women’s financial wellbeing and security to promoting health and mental fitness for all ages, we are looking for projects that can really make a difference to people’s lives,” Mrs Taylor said.

Earlier this year, Mr Singh visited a local Coffs recipient from the 2020 Investing in Women funding program.

The State Government allocated $50,000 to Associate Professor Gillian Gould and her all-women team of Aboriginal and non-Indigenous researchers and Aboriginal and non-Indigenous health experts’ collaborative effort, who created the MAMA-EMPOWER App which promotes healthy Indigenous pregnancy.

Professor Gould said, “The funding is helping us develop and test a new design for the app which we anticipate will be more interactive and engaging.

“The app helps Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women set their own healthy goals during pregnancy.”

Dr Nicole Ryan, who works closely with Professor Gould in MAMA-EMPOWER app research and development added, “We created a prototype app in 2018/19 that was tested by pregnant Aboriginal women from two regional communities.

“The women told us that they loved the content information and visual appeal of the app but they also said that it was slow and not user-friendly.

“The funding is allowing further development into an easy to navigate app that can be used without internet connection.

“It has also enabled us to personalise the content so that the pregnant women can follow personas from different backgrounds with their own health change stories.”

With trialling amongst the user group, the app is in on-going development.

For more information on Investing In Women funding and to submit an application visit www.women.nsw.gov.au/commissioning/investing-in-women-funding-program.

By Andrea FERRARI