Luanda: Angola's First Lady, Ana Dias Louren§o, welcomed her counterparts from Equatorial Guinea, Constancia Obiang, and C´te d'Ivoire, Dominique Ouattara, to Luanda today. They are attending the launch of the campaign "Building Resilience for Women and Girls: Climate, Conflict, and Sustainable Futures."
According to Angola Press News Agency, the continental campaign aims to strengthen the response to challenges affecting the most vulnerable populations, thereby enhancing the capacity of African states to address the impacts of climate change, conflict, and humanitarian crises, with a particular focus on the protection, participation, and empowerment of women and girls.
They are the first to arrive for the event and may be joined by the First Ladies of Cabo Verde, the DRC, Gabon, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Namibia, the Congo, Nigeria, and So Tom© e Prncipe. In addition to the First Ladies, the Executive Secretary of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), Nardos Berhanu, is also expected to attend, along with other dignitaries.
The campaign is being held under the theme "Building Resilience Means Ensuring Sustainability for the Future, with Inclusive Participation" and envisions mobilizing partnerships and concrete actions to strengthen the resilience of women and girls in the face of climate challenges, conflict, and humanitarian crises.
Led by Ana Dias Louren§o in her capacity as Vice-President of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), the initiative reaffirms Angola's commitment to promoting gender equality, peace, and sustainable development across the continent. The campaign follows the impact achieved by the continental initiative "We Are Equal," which mobilized institutions, partners, and citizens around education for gender equality and the fight against violence affecting children and youth.
According to the statement, this new initiative sees Angola once again taking a leading role in promoting an African agenda focused on building resilience, peace, and inclusion, as well as creating opportunities for women and girls.
The launch event will be attended by representatives from the public and private sectors, civil society organizations, and community leaders. OAFLAD is a continental organization that brings together First Ladies to support initiatives aimed at promoting the rights and well-being of women, youth, and children, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations.
The organization was established in 2002-initially known as the Organization of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA)-at the initiative of 37 First Ladies from across the continent, at a time when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was a major public health challenge in Africa. Over the years, the organization has expanded its scope of action to address other challenges affecting the continent's development.
