By Politico staff writer
Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Bio, has present her track record in fighting Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) during a conference in Dubai.
This is according to the Information Attache of the Sierra Leone Embassy in United Arab Emirate.
The summit was to highlight and discuss issues affecting women and girls in the African continent.
In her keynote address, Madam Bio said after realising the need to protect women and girls, her office in 2018 launched the “Hands of Our Girls” campaign, an initiative geared towards putting an end to rape, early child marriage, teenage pregnancy and other forms of violations perpetuated against women and girls.
She had recently championed a women’s empowerment advocacy at the United Nations for the 18th November to be set aside annually to remember sexual violence victims across the globe.
The resolution that was well applauded globally gained unanimous adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year.
After thanking the Merck Foundation for training of 42 medical doctors from Sierra Leone in various areas of specialization, she also highlighted strides she has made about the on-going construction of a 500 bed hospital in Sierra Leone .
That project she said was undertaken by her office to support healthcare delivery as well as bolstering the country’s healthcare system.
She paid tribute to healthcare workers across the African Continent for what she described as their resilience, particularly during the COVID 19 pandemic.
The Chief Executive Officer of Merck Foundation and President of “More than a Mother” campaign, Senator Dr.Rasha Keleji, after thanking the first ladies for attending the summit from it first edition amidst the challenges posed by the pandemic, said the foundation will continue its work in building capacity , raising awareness and delivering successes and improvements.
The CEO also noted that the conference provided an opportunity to showcase their achievements and assess impacts of their programmes in their various countries.
The Chairman of the Executive Board of E. Merck KG and Merck Foundation Board of Trustees, Professor Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, commended the first ladies for their efforts in supporting the health sector in many ways, especially through boosting the capacities of healthcare workers in their respective countries.
“Good healthcare is a major driver of economic growth and social progress. We also want to thank your efforts in supporting girl-child education in your countries. We strongly believe that raising educated girls means strong women, families and countries,” he said.
The Merck Foundation is said to be a philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA, Germany that seeks to promote and improve the health and welling of people and advance their lives through science and technology.
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