AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed its commitment towards enabling women advance in their careers and enhance their leadership potential, a senior official said yesterday.
In her message to the commemoration of the International Women’s Day, WHO regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said to support the vision, over 80 mid-level and senior female staff in the region have participated in leadership training which the organization is piloting its expansion to ministries of health. In the Republic of the Congo, 34 women leading decentralized primary health institutions participated in the programme.
She urged everyone to recognise the leadership skills and potential of women, towards moving closer to gender equality. “Overcoming inequities in our societies will lead to better health, development and prosperity for all people,” she said.
This year’s Women’s Day theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world. The day meant to recognize the achievements of women and to take stock of progress towards gender equality.
Dr Moeti said that COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the effective leadership of women, particularly in times of crisis— as Heads of State, senior officials, experts and innovators, business leaders and as 70 percent of the frontline health workforce (exposed to a heightened risk of infection), and as stewards of families and communities.
“Women have stepped-up to this challenge with courage and honesty, learning and adapting in a rapidly evolving situation.”
At the same time, inequities that disadvantage women have been exacerbated in this pandemic. Stay-at-home orders brought the livelihoods of many African women – working as hairdressers or market vendors, for example – to a standstill.
“Lockdowns, coupled with fears of infection, and health workforce shortages, are among the reasons for reports of drops in access to contraception, antenatal care and births in health facilities in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and other countries. These restrictions, including school closures, also increased the risks of sexual and gender-based violence, teenage pregnancies, and dropping out of school, particularly for girls,” she noted
Moeti however said this pandemic will have long-term impacts on the social and economic fabric of our societies, including progress towards gender equality. UN Women projects that in 2021eight million more women than men will be pushed into extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
“At WHO we are providing guidance and technical support to governments to ensure the continuous delivery of essential gender-responsive services and to assess the barriers girls and women face in accessing these services,” she said.
Thirty-six Member States in the African Region have integrated at least one gender-responsive measure in their national COVID-19 response plans. We have trained 155 health workers in 22 African countries to support women suffering from gender-based violence and to continue to safely deliver sexual and reproductive health and HIV services in the context of COVID-19.
“Last year we launched the Africa Young Women Champions Initiative in partnership with the UN volunteers’ programme, to recruit 100 UN volunteers in the African Region. Despite the immense challenges of the COVID-19 response, already 27 volunteers are on board, 93 percent are female and more than 20 additional will be on board in the coming months.”
She further noted: “Women now account for 33 percent of our workforce, up from 30 percent in 2015. We have established a mentoring programme, and a task force to promote a more conducive working environment for female WHO staff in the Region.”
