The First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto has officially announced her commitments towards the “We Are Equal” Campaign, launched by the Organisation for Africa First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), at an event held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA.
#WeAreEqual is a year-long campaign that calls for urgent action to advance gender equity and close the gender gap in Africa by leveraging the collective voices of African First Ladies.
The campaign will be launched in Kenya on 22nd November 2023, during the inaugural Women Summit that will culminate with the 15-year celebration of Joyful Women, a transformative table banking model that has empowered 200,000 women organised in 15,000 groups .
The First Lady committed to empowering 2.5 million women with opportunities, skills, and tools that will empower them to become economically productive, especially through financial inclusion and financial health; micro, small, and medium enterprises; capacity building and livelihoods; and trade and market access.
To reduce the risks associated with indoor household pollution, especially for women and children, Mama Rachel Ruto will champion the uptake of clean cooking technologies, urging other first ladies to support energy transition and eradicate household pollution-related deaths. At the just concluded Africa Climate Summit, it was noted that 600 million Africans lack access to electricity and 970 million Africans lack access to clean cooking.
The First Lady further proposed to OAFLAD to support the Africa Climate Summit 2023 declaration to make climate change a theme for the African Union in 2025, by making conservation and climate action a corresponding theme.
