By Misrak Makonnen
Africa’s social, political, economic and health landscape has transformed dramatically over the past 50 years. Today, the region is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and offers a promising frontier for local, regional and global businesses looking to expand. Despite this, experts have warned that failure to address gender inequality threatens to rob the continent of its potential.
Gender inequality has been flagged as one of the biggest threats to progress on the continent. Underinvestment in women’s health, failure of health systems to provide access to quality care and lack of agency over their health and wellbeing have resulted in Africa’s women and girls suffering poorer health outcomes than their counterparts in other regions.
According to the McKinsey Global Institute report on gender parity, which notes that accelerating progress towards gender equality could boost African economies by the equivalent of 10% of their collective GDP by 2025. Imagine what such growth could do for the people of Africa.
Acknowledging that women in Africa make up half the workforce (and the majority of farm labour) on the continent, it is easy to see how stepping up efforts to close existing gender gaps and preventing future gaps from forming could position Africa to secure a substantial growth dividend. For example, in Ethiopia, the health extension workers, who are mostly women, were trained to fight the COVID 19 pandemic as frontline workers.
To reap this dividend and much more, we must act now. If we do not, it will take Africa more than 140 years to achieve gender parity at the current rate of progress that is 140 years too long. Africa needs a shift in mindset. We need to – collectively – realize the value that girls and women bring to the table and then go a step further to invest in every tool at our disposal to empower them, starting with basics such as access to quality healthcare, economic growth opportunities and education. Once the basics are covered, we must then go further to ensure that they can meaningfully participate in regional and national development through equal opportunities across sectors and seats at the leadership table.
We need to rethink how we approach gender issues, from women’s health to social and economic equity, justice and all other women’s rights, which are human rights at their core. It all starts at the individual and household levels. We have to change the narrative that girls and women are powerless. Men and women have to change this narrative by encouraging their girls that they can do anything and the sky is the limit. Tell them from the get-go that they are equal to boys and that is the norm.
We need to break the bias; to challenge stereotypes that relegate women and girls to second-class positions in society. This will require work at the community level to address the traditional harmful practices and social norms that lead to gender-based violence, child, early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation and cutting.
It is encouraging to see that there have been some positive changes at the policy level. Several African countries are integrating gender-intentional policies and adopting a multi-sectoral approach to promote equity and inclusion. For instance, Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde, the first woman to hold this office, initiated the Presidential Leadership Initiative Program, where mid-level professional women are trained to become the future leaders of Ethiopia, creating a pool of women leaders who can lead the country. Additionally, President Zewde oversees a girls’ mentorship initiative that focuses on providing education to girls and linkages to senior professionals who serve as their mentors and coaches. This is a great example of how African leaders are taking steps towards achieving gender equality by launching initiatives that can and should – be replicated across different countries.
Ethiopia has also included gender equality in several strategic country development strategies such as its Ten Years Perspective Plan. One of its pillars focuses on the participation of women and girls to ensure social and economic gender equity. In effect, it seeks to protect and uplift women and encourage their input in education, asset ownership, fair participation in leadership, decision-making and creating awareness about the role of women in our communities. The task at hand now is to follow through on its implementation for impact.
To ensure a sustainable and gender-equitable tomorrow, it is imperative that African countries have a multisectoral and integrated support system that includes economic empowerment, advocacy for girls and women’s rights and access to essential services (health and otherwise) for girls and women. By equally investing in these different components, we are taking the first, critical steps towards achieving social, economic and health equality for hundreds of millions of ordinary women and girls across the continent who have so much to offer they are just waiting to be given the opportunity to lead and engage.
Misrak Makonnen, MPH, MBA, is Country Director of Amref Health Africa, Ethiopia
