Mission to ease misery of women in Africa can be best advanced by primarily addressing challenges facing girls, women:
First Lady
Speaking at the opening of the USAID Africa regional education workshop held in Sheraton Addis yesterday, she said the burden women bear is enormous in poor countries that have no public provision.
The mission to ease misery in Africa can therefore be best advanced by addressing the challenges facing girls and women first, the first lady said, adding that women in positions of leadership can come to the rescue of citizens by giving voice to the plight of women.
Several public service institutions have been striving toward 100% coverage of services to citizens and communities throughout the country during the last five years, she indicated.
According to her, girl's enrollment in primary and secondary education has been raised and some 60,000 girls are now enrolled in 21 universities.
The coverage in primary health extension service is also rising rapidly, Azeb added.
An equally aggressive fight against HIV/AIDS is making VCT, ART and PMTCT accessible in great numbers, with 84 hospitals and 132 health centers making universal access to ART services a real possibility in Ethiopia.
What is required to further improve the enrollment of girls in school is a holistic vision which is essential to free women from a web of beliefs and practices that now entangles their lives, the first lady stressed.
She finally said no vision for the emancipation of women can succeed unless it faces the biggest barrier to a meaningful life in Africa, which is poverty.
