African First Ladies urged to nurture young leaders
The First Lady and President of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), Mrs Lordina Mahama, has challenged her Fellow First ladies to work hard and ensure that healthy young leaders are nurtured for the development of the continent.
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She said Africa would no longer allow its productive young people to die needlessly and prematurely from preventable diseases or be immobilised by cultural practices that no longer have any relevance.
She said as Africa forged ahead towards the attainment of the 90-90-90 HIV fast track targets by 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was the need to ensure that no young person was left behind.
Advocacy efforts
Addressing the closing session of the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Accra, the First Lady gave an assurance that together with other First Ladies, she would raise the advocacy efforts to completely stop the negative practices that affect the health, growth and self-esteem of children.
The conference was organised byCurious Minds, Ghana, an organisation of young advocates and youth in broadcasting.
Health and rights
It was on theme: “Realising Demographic Dividend in Africa: the Critical Importance of Adolescents and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
Mrs Mahama pledged to do everything possible to get her fellow First Ladies to rally and save adolescents from the devastating effects of HIV. Quoting Martin Luther King Jnr, she said: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.’’
The First Lady said she was satisfied that many of the issues concerning traditions, policies and philosophies that negatively affected sexual health and rights, as well as the improvement of lives of adolescents all over the world, especially Africa, had been extensively discussed.
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She said if Africa successfully overcame problems such as teenage pregnancies, child marriages, maternal and child morbidity and mortality, it would go a long way to raise healthy young leaders for the continent’s development.
Mrs Mahama said deliberations over the past few days, which included ending new HIV infections among adolescents, mother-to-child transmission of HIV and ending child marriages, among other health and educational initiatives, would be implemented to achieve the desired result.
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, said there was the need for African countries to put in place policies which could take advantage of the demographic dividend.
These policies, she said, must promote investments which would help the young people to be more productive during their working years.
She said those policies must address issues on education and health, nutrition and infrastructure development that addressed productive investment and inclusion of the youth, promoting healthy sexuality, marriage and childbearing among younger people.
Rapid development
The Conference Convener, Dr UNO Esie, commended Curious Minds for the successful organisation of the conference which attracted over 1,500 people mostly youth all over Africa and the world.
He said that showed that given the necessary push the youth could do a lot about the rapid development of the African continent.
The Deputy Director of UNAIDS, Ms Jan Beagle, said critical actions needed to be taken and partnerships formed to ensure that the youth unearth their potential and contribute meaningfully to the development of the communities in particular and the nation as a whole.
She said young people needed to be free and make choices without fear of victimisation.