The inclusion of women in essential roles is necessary for development – Samira Bawumia

General News on Friday, April 26, 2019

Source: Bawumia temporary press

2019-04-26

Ghana's second lady, Samira Bawumia, has called for the inclusion of women in essential roles in the development of society. She made the call, as keynote speaker, at the Faces of Africa Summit at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland, United States.

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 on the Front Line" is part of the vision of the non-profit organization of the Second Lady, 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 emphasized the need for governments and decision-making bodies to prioritize women in critical areas of our 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.

Women in Leadership

She praised the efforts of most African governments to encourage women's participation in governance. According to her, "significant progress has been made in advancing women in Africa through deliberate efforts to remove the barriers to women's participation in politics and governance".

Women's health

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.

Education

On education, the second lady said, "Education and skills are essential to realizing individual potential, national economic growth, social development and the promotion of global citizenship. However, the gender gap in educational achievement at all country levels remains very high. "

It will be remembered that not so long ago, Ms. Bawumia, world ambbadador for the United Nations Clean Cooking Alliance, gave a similar lecture 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.

Other initiatives

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 forty thousand (40,000) books to about sixty (60) schools in ten (10) regions of Ghana. 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 fight against badual and founded violence 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.