First Lady of Sierra Leone and President of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development Dr Fatima Maada Bio and Her Excellency Fatoumatta Bah Barrow, First Lady of The Gambia, have arrived in Accra for an African First Ladies high-level side event as part of the 23rd International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA).
Thursday’s meeting, being hosted by Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Dramani Mahama, is on Ending Mother-to-Child Transmission and the Triple Elimination of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B in Africa.
The engagement will focus on the role of women in leadership in complementing efforts to fight stigmatisation, abuse, and neglect of victims, especially women and children, as well as concrete steps to protect their rights in society.
Mrs Mahama and her Lordina Foundation have earned international recognition for their advocacy to promote health and humanitarian assistance for the vulnerable over the past decade.
In 2013, she was appointed a Health Ambassador to support the Heart-to-Heart campaign and to champion the course of HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana.
In February 2016, Mrs Mahama, then as President of the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), delivered an emotional message on the need for a proactive response to HIV and the sexual and reproductive rights of young people at the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights, held in Accra.
Also expected in Accra for the high-level meeting are the First Ladies of Kenya, Liberia, and a former First Lady of South Africa.