Inclusion of women in essential roles needed for development – Samira Bawumia

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The wife of the Vice President, Samira Bawumia, called for the inclusion of women in essential roles in the development of society.

She emphasized the need for governments and decision-making bodies to prioritize women in critical areas of national life.

"Provide women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work and representation in political and economic decision-making processes, as well as the elimination of badual and gender-based violence and harmful practices, will fuel economic growth and benefit societies and humanity alike, "she noted.

Samira Bawumia made the call as keynote speaker, at the Summit "Faces of Africa", at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland.

The summit, a one-week annual program organized by the Network for Public Health in Africa (APHN) of the university, aims to promote discussions on public health and gender equality on the African continent.

This year, the theme "Achieving Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: African Women in the Frontline" is part of the vision of its nonprofit organization, Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP).

The summit also aims to present African culture and society while highlighting women progressing in the socio-economic and political spheres of the continent.

Ms. Bawumia commended the efforts of most African governments to encourage women's participation in governance.

"The advancement of women in Africa has made significant progress through deliberate efforts to remove the barriers to women's participation in politics and governance," she said.

In the health field, Ms. Bawumia, who also plays the role of champion of maternal health, explained that gender inequality was linked to the health of poor women in Africa. She mentioned lack of access to health facilities because of weak economic power.

With regard to education, she noted that "education and skills are essential to the realization of individual potential, to national economic growth, social development and the promotion of citizenship However, the gender gap in educational achievement at all levels remains very high.

Not long ago, Ms. Bawumia, Global Ambbadador for the Clean Cooking Alliance, made a similar presentation at the prestigious University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.

Women's Empowerment is at the heart of her work with her non-profit organization, SEHP.

Through SEHP, Ms. Bawumia has launched a number of critical interventions in the areas of health, education and empowerment, with a special focus on women.

These include the Safe Delivery Project, an initiative to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in disadvantaged communities. SEHP has also equipped and redeveloped some health facilities in disadvantaged communities in Ghana.

SEHP's Library-in-A-Box project has distributed more than 40,000 books to approximately 60 schools in 10 regions of the country.

About 40,000 students should benefit from these books. This is part of the drive to improve literacy and build a culture of reading among Ghanaian students, especially girls.

SEHP, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), has launched a coalition of people against badual and gender-based violence and harmful practices based on gender (CoPASH) in order to take a national action to combat badual and gender-based violence, including case management and prevention efforts in Ghana.

Ms. Bawumia has recently been named "Queen of Humanitarian Projects" by the Human Achievers Foundation in India. She has also been crowned "African Woman of Excellence 2018" by the African Union and the African Forum of the Diaspora.