The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has launched four programmes to help improve women and girls’ access to basic social services, particularly in the areas of education and health.
The four programmes which are under the EGDC’s flagship programme: “Human Capital Development and Women’s Empowerment”, are ‘Medical and financial support for women and girls suffering from obstetric fistula in ECOWAS Member States, ‘Support for the promotion of young girls in specialised technical and professional training through the provision of scholarships’, Support for women processors of agricultural, fishery and craft products’ and ‘The 50 Million African Woman Speak Project (50MAWSP)’.
The Commissioner, Human Development and Social Affairs, ECOWAS, Professor Fatou Sow Sarr, who launched the four programmes in Accra last Friday, said it would help strengthen women and girls right on the continent.
The Director, EGDC, Sandra Oulate Fattoh, said the four programmes aimed to promote the socio-economic development of women in the ECOWAS region by establishing support mechanisms to remove constraints and barriers to access to economic opportunities.
Favourable environment
This programme, she said, also aimed to create a favourable environment for the development of human and economic capacities of women and the youth in the region, adding that the ‘Human Capital Development and Women’s Empowerment’ programme of the EGDC included two sub-programmes primarily aimed at improving the well-being of women, girls and boys in member states, particularly access to healthcare and quality education, and economic empowerment through access to resources and economic opportunities via training, financing and technical assistance.
The Director, Gender, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Faustina Acheampong, who represented the sector Minister, Dakoa Newman, said the launch of the four programmes would help increase women’s participation in national development.
A representative from MoGCSP, Victoria Nyavor, in a presentation on the four programmes being implemented by the ministry, said so far 155 women have been mobilised to benefit from the medical and financial support for women and girls suffering from obstetric fistula and integrated back into their communities.
Also, under the 50 million African Women Speak project, she said over 20,000 women were currently benefiting across the country from a digital platform designed to enable women access information on financial products and services, business training, mentoring, commercial opportunities among others.
