Source: African Development Bank
From 10 to 12 December 2024, the African Development Bank, through the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), initiated a South-South exchange trip, which saw a delegation from Burkina Faso visiting Côte d'Ivoire, to share learning with Ivorien counterparts on the implementation of an information system for safeguards relating to the REDD+ initiative (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) and its benefit-sharing mechanism.
Source: The New Times
The government will on February 1, officially launch its strategy to eliminate cervical cancer by 2027, during activities to mark World Cancer Day on February 4.
This plan aligns with the World Health Organization's (WHO) 90-70-90 targets, which aim to vaccinate 90% of girls aged 13 to 15 against human papillomavirus (HPV), screen 70% of women aged 29 to 49 for cervical cancer, and ensure that 90% of women with pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions receive appropriate treatment.
Source; Daily Trust
Over 5000 Nigerian women are currently stranded in Iraq, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has said.
Source: Dabanga
Sharg El Nil / Khartoum North — Pregnant women in Sharg El Nil (East Nile) area, particularly in Haj Yousef, are living a terrifying nightmare that threatens their lives and the lives of their unborn children. The lack of medical services has led to a rise in maternal and foetal mortality rates, alongside serious, life-threatening health complications.
Source: Ghanaian Times
President John Dramani Mahama has made 12 fresh ministerial nominations as he continues to put his government in shape.
Source: The Namibian
Swapo vice president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has been elected as Namibia's fifth president, making history as the country's first woman to hold this position.
The Ministry of Justice, through its Gender and Social Inclusion Unit, has launched a Gender Policy and a five-year Strategic Action Plan aimed at promoting inclusivity across all sectors.
South Sudan is making significant strides in addressing the gender gap in education by reintegrating teenage mothers into schools, experts say.
The Director General of West Africa Health Organization (WAHO) has informed members of the ECOWAS Parliament's joint committee that his organization has screened over 16 thousand women for breast and cervical cancer.
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (VAPP), is a vital piece of legislation that was enacted in 2015 and has been domesticated by many states in Nigeria. It has been described as the most effective legislation giving hope to countless women and girls in Nigeria as it aims to prohibit all forms of violence against persons in private and public life. Since it was passed into law by the President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 with just five states on board, the law has faced a lot of bottlenecks before it was domesticated in many states. indeed, it took seven years for 19 states to domesticate the act despite its importance. It faced a lot of challenges and currently, only 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states have domesticated the law. But while advocates are fighting to ensure the remaining two states domesticate the law for effective protection against domestic violence, sexual assault and practices across the country, all efforts put in are about to go down the drain as the Senate is set to repeal it and it has passed second reading based on the argument that it needs a complete reform.
Source: Seychelles News Agency
A business incubation centre will be established in Seychelles next year through a virtual signing of a memorandum of understanding between the COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) Seychelles Chapter and the Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI).
Addis Abeba — Last week, an event unfolded that shook the entire country to its core; the story of seven-year-old Heaven Awot who was sexually violated and murdered by Getnet Bayih, father of three, and her mother's landlord, in August last year. When Heaven's body was discovered she was strangled, her lifeless body mutilated, and dumped with sand stuffed in her mouth. Her rapist and killer was sentenced to a mere 25 years in prison by a local court in the Amhara regional state, where he fielded an appeal, leading to public outrage and widespread calls for a death penalty to be imposed.
Source: Government of Mauritius
The development of a National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security in alignment with the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 was the focus of a workshop which was launched, today, by the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, Mrs Kalpana Devi Koonjoo-Shah, at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel in Balaclava.
The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Director-General, Advocate Mikateko Maluleke, has called for the establishment of a policy environment that removes barriers to women’s participation in trade and business, through policy advocacy and reform.
Addis Abeba – Twenty seven civil society organizations based in the Tigray region are calling for urgent action from regional authorities to address the escalating issue of gender-based violence against women.
The bill, among others, proposes to amend Sections 48 and 49 of the Constitution to provide one special seat reserved exclusively for women in the Senate and House of Representatives for each state of the federation and the FCT.
Bong County Representative Miama Briggs Mensah has assured the women and the public in general that a bill to abolish the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) would be passed.
As Uganda approaches its 2026 general elections, the nation faces a pressing and multifaceted challenge, the surge of gender focused disinformation.
By: Agnes Miriam Ojunga & Naomi Ndifon
Every year, over 2 million girls worldwide undergo one of the 4 forms of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) before their 5th birthday. 230 million of the less than 4 billion women and girls on the planet today are grappling with the lasting effects of female genital mutilation on their sexual, reproductive, and psychosocial health. What is regarded in several cultures across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East as a practice of purity, a code of chastity and a marker of marriageability and marital fidelity exposes toddler and adolescent girls to psychological trauma, urinary tract infections, cysts, and more. In their adult years as women during childbirth, they face a new set of complications; perineal tear, fresh stillbirth, and postpartum hemorrhage, putting their lives and the lives of their babies at risk.
And yet in light of these complications, little girls are still being cut by traditional practitioners and medical personnel every day.
In this article, we discuss Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) against the backdrop of the proposed repeal of the legal ban on FGM/C in The Gambia, why it is not just ‘circumcision’ and how a rollback on this basic human rights of girls in what is the smallest country in continental Africa might be a ticking global timebomb.
There has been an improvement in the life expectancy at birth for females in Zimbabwe following a rise from 66.5 years to 68 years while male life expectancy remains at 61 years, according to the National Health Strategy Performance Report for 2021-2024 presented to Cabinet Tuesday.