Gender equality and child welfare minister Emma Kantema has called for African governments and development partners to move beyond commitments and take concrete action to improve the livelihoods of women and girls.
Speaking at the Pan-African Women’s Day high-level breakfast in Windhoek on Friday, Kantema said promises must turn into meaningful action.
“Women must not only be beneficiaries of development but be actively involved in designing, governing and managing initiatives that affect their lives, families and communities,” she said.
The breakfast, held under the theme ‘Women’s Action for Safe Sanitation, Peaceful Communities and Better Livelihoods’, rallied support for the ratification of the African Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and for improving sanitation access.
It brought together policymakers, leaders and advocates to advance continental initiatives, economic integration, and social welfare.
Kantema said greater investment is needed in women’s leadership, safe and accessible water and sanitation services, stronger protection systems and survivor-centred responses to gender-based violence.
She said improving women’s lives requires more than providing services.
