Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has called on African governments to prioritise financing for gender equality, warning that without sustained investment the continent’s development will remain incomplete.
Speaking at the High-Level Breakfast Meeting on Financing and Reaffirming Africa’s Gender Commitments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mr. Mahama said gender equality was “fundamental to Africa’s economic transformation and long-term prosperity.”
He argued that accelerating the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals required harnessing the full potential of women, whom he described as “the continent’s most underutilised resource.”
Despite decades of declarations, Mr. Mahama noted that Africa’s gender agenda remained chronically underfunded.
“Gender-responsive programmes are often the first casualties of fiscal constraints; when austerity measures are implemented, these programmes suffer the most,” he said.
He lamented that women’s organisations were expected to deliver transformational outcomes with minimal resources, while the care economy largely sustained by African women remained invisible in national budgets.
Mr. Mahama also highlighted the lack of resources for tackling gender-based violence.
“Efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls are severely under-resourced,” he said, stressing the urgent need for governments to match commitments with adequate financing.
President Mahama urged African leaders to ensure that gender equality initiatives were not sidelined during periods of austerity, insisting that meaningful progress on development could only be achieved if women were fully empowered and supported.
