In his capacity as the African Union Champion on Gender and Development issues, the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. Nana Addo-Danqua Akufo-Addo, extended an invitation to UNFPA and other stakeholders to the launch of the Gender and Development Initiative for Africa (GADIA) on 14th November 2017 in Accra, Ghana. The theme of the launch event was “African Women as Leaders in Business and Politics”.

The launch event recognised the strides that Ghana has made towards realising women’s empowerment through leadership positions – where a high number of women hold high level government positions. In addition to advancing women’s engagement in leadership, GADIA looks to also promote women’s participation in business.

H.E. Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, was the guest of honour at the launch. In her statement, she commended Ghana for its leadership in promoting women’s empowerment and wished the President well in carrying out its duties as Africa’s Champion on Gender and Development issues.

As the only development partner speaking at the launch, UNFPA’s Mr. Mabingue Ngom, Regional Director for the West and Central Africa Office, committed the agency’s support for GADIA and called on the continent to work together in completely ending preventable maternal deaths that are driven by a number of issues, including harmful practises such as Female Genital Mutilation which remain an impediment to their economic and other forms of empowerment.