Our Moderator, Her Excellency Madam Helen Johnson Sirleaf, Former President of the Republic of Liberia,
H.E. Madam Finda Koroma, CEO, Africa HCD+ and Former ECOWAS Vice President,
Colleague Minister from Liberia,
Hon. Members of Parliament from Liberia and Sierra Leone,
Distinguished Delegates
I bring you warm and fraternal greetings from His Excellency the President, Dr. Julius Maada Bio, Government and People of Sierra Leone. Liberia and Sierra Leone are only separated by imaginary lines called boundaries, but we share the same culture and there can be no brotherly or sisterly relationship stronger than the one that exists between our two governments and our people.
Sometime last year we had discussions between myself and my colleague Hon. Gbeme Horace-Kollie, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, to collaborate during the 69th session of the CSW. Our technical teams, with support from UN Women, worked on the modalities and today, here we are sharing our unique experiences at the global platform.
In 1995, Sierra Leonean women joined the rest of their counterparts around the globe in Beijing to discuss the future of women’s advancement and the achievement of gender equality. As you may be aware, Sierra Leone was experiencing a civil strife at that time and therefore protection of women in armed conflict as well as the participation of women in peacebuilding were part of our core agenda in Beijing. Our gender-responsive National Development Plan 2024-2030 reflects our commitment to mainstreaming gender in our national and local policies and strategies.
Women and poverty: Women continue to be the poorest of the poor in Sierra Leone and at the global level. The Government of Sierra Leone is addressing both food insecurity and poverty through several mechanisms including the flagship programme for food self-sufficiency ‘Feed Salone’ as well as social protection programmes targeting the most vulnerable women and Persons with Disabilities.
Education and training of women: the last six years has seen great advancements for women in both basic and tertiary education sector as part of Government’s prioritization of human capital development and free quality education. Today we have parity at the basic education level and an unprecedented number of young women in STEAM courses at tertiary level. Sierra Leone has committed 22 percent of our national budget to education and we are seeing positive outcomes.
Women and Health: the health systems strengthening initiative is on a positive trajectory. Investment in the health sector has increased, though not to the level of the Abuja Declaration. However, Sierra Leone has recorded a 74 percent reduction in maternal mortality over a period of 20 years (from 1,682 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 443 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020). Through a digitalized Pregnancy Registration and Tracking system implemented by the Ministry of Health and partners such as UNFPA, the country is accelerating progress towards zero maternal deaths by digitally registering and monitoring each pregnancy, as well as ensuring timely access to health services throughout the pregnancy.
Violence Against Women: violence against women and girls continues to be pervasive. We have promulgated several gender responsive policies and laws and have put in place operational mechanisms to ensure a survivor centred approach. We are also seeing increased reporting and recording of cases as a result of increased citizens trust in the services provided.
Women and armed conflict: Women played critical role in the attainment and consolidation of peace in Sierra Leone. Our efforts in the implementation of the UNSCR 1325 is a testament of our resolve. We have spotlighted the WPS agenda during our current tenure in the Security Council and as co-chair of the WPS IEG.
Women and the economy: Sierra Leone is working hard to improve women’s economic empowerment through measures promoting financial inclusion and access to finance, as well as improving value chains for productive sectors .
Women in power and decision-making: Government is making steady progress in meeting the benchmark of minimum 30 percent representation in elective and appointive positions. The implementation of the Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Act 2022 has witnessed a monumental increase in the women in decision making positions. We now have at least 30 percent representation for ordinary Members of Parliament; 34.5 percent in Cabinet; 33 percent representation for Deputy Ministers; and 34 percent representation for local government Councilors. We are making concerted efforts to increase the representation of women across the public and private sectors above these levels.
Mechanisms for the advancement of women: the Government of Sierra Leone is committed to promoting strong institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women. Starting from as early as 1988 with establishment of a Women’s Bureau, to establishment of a Gender Desk in the Office of Chairman and Head of State in 1994, we now have a dedicated Ministry providing strategic policy oversight and coordination, gender desks for development and other strategic sectors. In addition, we have the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Gender and Children’s Affairs and the Female Caucus in Parliament.
Human rights of women: As the saying goes women’s rights are human rights. In Sierra Leone women are equal before the law as their male counterparts. However, discriminatory practices and cultural norms, especially in the informal justice secto,r affect women‘s full, meaningful and equal participation across society.
Women and the media: women are still limited in the media landscape in Sierra Leone. However, we are making progress as we now have women-owned media houses (both print and electronics).
Women and the environment: Environmental policies and laws have been reviewed to be more gender responsive, noting the intersection of climate change and gender, with women and girls bearing the brunt of climate disasters, as we have seen with recent floods, landslides and other devastating climate events across the country.
The Girl Child: the Government of Sierra Leone has prioritized promoting the girl child as a key component in its human capital development strategy for sustainable development. In 2024, a landmark legislation, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, was passed in Parliament. The Child Rights Bill 2024 is also being updated in Parliament as a National Children’s Law that will provide overall protection of children in Sierra Leone.
Let me conclude by stating that whilst we have made a lot of progress in empowering women and girls through increased access to education and economic opportunities, and addressing social injustices through more responsive legislative frameworks, we still have a long way to go to fully address the critical areas of concern we signed up to some 30 years ago. Sierra Leone, like many other countries in the global south, continues to grapple with limited resources, which impact our ability to upscale our interventions. At this critical juncture, it is important that we strengthen our national, regional and global collaborative networks for sharing of resources, information and best practices to support countries in developing and implementing dynamic national action plans for advancing our common agenda of women’s empowerment.
I thank you for your attention.
