President Girma said gender inequality and violence against women and other related problems limit progress toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The president made the remark on Wednesday at the opening of the 6th African Development Forum held in Addis Ababa at the UN Conference Center under the title “Action on gender equality, empowerment, and ending violence against women in Africa”.

Girma said economic, political, social, and cultural growth in Africa can not be realized without the full participation of women who make up at least half of the population of every country.

Though Africa has experienced a growth rate of over 5 percent, these improvements have not yet demonstrated any meaningful impact on poverty reduction, gender equality, or on overall social development, according to the president.

The president calls up on the forum to come up with detailed and ‘well-considered’ action plan to help redress the impact of current challenges on women and girls in the short and medium term.

Speaking at the occasion, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Abdoulie Janneh said gender equality and women’s empowerment are very essential for achieving sustainable and ‘inclusive’ development.

Janneh said promoting women education and training, ensuring women’s access to productive assets could help African countries to scale up annual growth rates toward achieving MDGs.

According to the executive secretary, ensuring women’s empowerment and alleviating violence against women remained the major challenges toward bringing about gender equality in Africa.

Trans-4:36-5:26 pm

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