Mahama Warns Underfunded Gender Agenda Could Hinder Africa’s Development
President Mahama urges African leaders to increase funding for gender equality, warning underinvestment undermines the continent’s growth and Agenda 2063 goals.
- Mahama stresses that women are Africa’s most underutilized resource and key to economic transformation.
- Gender-responsive programs and the care economy remain underfunded, especially during austerity measures.
- Sustained investment in gender equality is essential to advance the SDGs and Agenda 2063.
President John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders to increase funding for gender equality initiatives, cautioning that insufficient financial commitment threatens the continent’s overall development.
Delivering the keynote at the High-Level Breakfast Meeting on Financing and Reaffirming Africa’s Gender Commitments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Mahama emphasized that gender equality is essential for Africa’s economic transformation.
He highlighted that accelerating Agenda 2063 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires fully harnessing Africa’s human capital, particularly women, whom he described as the continent’s most underutilized resource.
“Despite decades of declarations, Africa’s gender agenda remains chronically underfunded. Gender-responsive programmes are often the first casualties of fiscal constraints; when austerity measures are implemented, these programmes suffer the most,” President Mahama stated.
He further noted that women’s organizations are expected to deliver transformational outcomes with minimal resources, while the care economy—largely sustained by African women—remains invisible in national budgets. Efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls are also severely under-resourced, he added.
President Mahama urged leaders to make sustained investment in gender equality a priority to unlock Africa’s full development potential.
