THE FIRST LADY CALLS FOR URGENCY IN GIVING WOMEN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The First Lady of Ghana, H.E Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo has called for more urgency in taking action to ensure that women are truly given equal opportunity in an equitable manner.

The First Lady was speaking on the side lines of the United Nations General Assembly during the OAFLAD meeting held in New York on the 24th of September 2024.

Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo praised the work that her sister First Ladies are doing in their respective countries and across Africa via the Unified Gender Campaign themed “ WE ARE EQUAL”. The campaign has since seen a more concerted effort on advocacy on education, health, economic empowerment and an end to gender-based violence by First Ladies across the continent. Ghana launched its campaign in August 2023.

The Ghana campaign expanded existing efforts by the Rebecca Foundation to improve healthcare delivery and outcomes for women and children. It also expanded the numbers of school libraries under the “Learning to read, reading to learn” Initiative to improve literacy in children, increased access to more girls under the “Because I want to be” Initiative which empowers and informs adolescent girls via a nationwide mentorship TV program to stay in school until at least after Senior High School and economically empowered more women with skills, start-up kits and funds to improve their livelihoods and ability to earn a living for themselves and their families.

Mrs Akufo-Addo pledged to carry on the work she has done for the past 7 and a half years on championing the wellbeing of women and children in Ghana.

As her term of office comes to an end in January 2025, The First Lady said her final goodbye to OAFLAD and encouraged them to continue with the good work of advocacy for a more equal Africa for women and girls on the continent.

Her Excellency the First Lady of Ghana along with her sister First Ladies received awards in recognition of the effort and work they have put in the “We are Equal” unified gender campaign. The awards were handed over by the first Lady of the Democratic Republic of Congo Her Excellency Mrs Denise Tshisekedi who is the vice President of OAFLAD.

Attending the meeting were first ladies from Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Zanzibar representing the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Also joining were first Ladies from Surinam and Paraguay who gave goodwill messages focused on improving women’s rights across the globe for a more balanced and developed world.