President John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders to significantly increase funding for gender equality, cautioning that the continent’s development will remain incomplete without sustained financial support.
At the High-Level Breakfast Meeting on Financing and Reaffirming Africa’s Gender Commitments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mahama emphasized that empowering women is central to economic transformation.
He noted that fulfilling Agenda 2063 and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals depends on fully utilising Africa’s human capital, particularly women, who continue to be one of the continent’s most underleveraged resources.
“Decades of declarations have not translated into adequate funding. Gender-focused programmes are often the first to be cut when budgets are tight.
Women’s organisations are expected to achieve transformational results with minimal resources, while the care economy, mostly supported by African women, remains largely invisible in national budgets. Critical initiatives to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls are severely underfunded,” Mahama highlighted.