Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Officially Launches its Gender Programmes in The Republic of Cote D’Ivoire

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Within the framework of the ECOWAS Gender Strategy and Action Plan 2020-2030 for gender-sensitive disaster risk reduction, the ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development (ECGD) is organising the official launch of the implementation of its gender programmes in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire on 21 June 2024 at the auditorium of the Office of the Prime Minister in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The event is being held under the patronage and in the presence of His Excellency Mr Robert BEUGRÉ MAMBÉ, Prime Minister and Head of Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire. The meeting will be held in partnership with the Ministry for Women, the Family and Children (MFFE) and the Ministry attached to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Ivorians Living Abroad, responsible for African Integration and Ivorians Living Abroad, through the ECOWAS National Office.

This event will also be attended by His Excellency Dr. Omar Alieu TOURAY, President of the ECOWAS Commission, the Honourable Hadja Memounatou IBRAHIMA, President of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mrs Fatou SOW SARR, ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Mrs Massandje TOURE-LITSE, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture and the Honourable Veronica Kadie SESAY, Representative of the Economic Community of West African States Association of Women Parliamentarians (ECOFEPA).

This event demonstrates the ECGD’s commitment to working closely with its Member States, as well as with regional and international institutions and civil society organisations, to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls at regional, continental and global levels.

For the record, since 2010, the ECGD has initiated technical and financial support programmes for women, men, young people and children. These include the Medical and Financial Support Programme for Women and Girls Suffering from Obstetric Fistula, which aims to improve the health of women and girls suffering from this condition, to enable them to lead productive, useful lives and give women their dignity.

The second programme involves support for the promotion of girls in the specialised technical and vocational training sector through the provision of scholarships for excellence to bright young girls from poor families, in order to help young girls in the ECOWAS region to obtain a quality education and skills in agricultural research, biotechnology, molecular biology and other areas of specialised technical and vocational training.

The third programme focuses on technical and financial support for women processors of agricultural, fishery and craft products, with the aim of strengthening the economic power of women involved in the processing of agricultural, fishery and craft products, so as to empower them completely. Finally, the 4th programme is the “50 million African Women Speak” project, which aims to facilitate the empowerment of women through the creation of a virtual platform for networking, sharing and accessing financial and non-financial information with a view to creating and developing their businesses in Africa.

As part of the implementation of the Fistula Programme, Côte d’Ivoire is one of the beneficiary countries of an exceptional allocation from ECOWAS for the medical and financial care of 60 women suffering from fistula, the rehabilitation of the unit for the care of fistula victims, the training of medical staff and social workers, and awareness-raising and information activities on the causes and consequences of fistula.

These programmes are run by the Ministry for Women, the Family and Children (MFFE) in collaboration with the technical ministries and institutions involved. The Ministry attached to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Integration and Ivorians Living Abroad, responsible for African Integration and Ivorians Living Abroad, through the ECOWAS National Office, coordinates and monitors the implementation of these programmes.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

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