Her Excellency Mama Rachel Ruto, the First Lady of Kenya, on Friday attended the 27th Ordinary General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), held at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa.
This year’s theme, “Closing Gaps in Gender Equity,” was a topic of extensive discussion among the OAFLAD secretariat, First Ladies, technical advisors, high-level government officials, African Union, and development partners.
Mama Rachel Ruto, who is passionate about empowering women, highlighted the importance of promoting women’s economic empowerment, climate action, and promoting family and national values through faith diplomacy. These are the three pillars of Mama Doing Good at the Office of the First Lady.
During the open sessions, Mama Rachel Ruto had the honour of delivering the remarks of Dr. Jill Biden, The First Lady of The United States Of America.
In her interventions, Mama Rachel Ruto emphasised the need for continued collaboration and collective action with all stakeholders, particularly in strengthening women’s role in economic development and mitigating the effects of climate change.
Speaking on the occasion, Mama Rachel Ruto said, “Women are the most affected by climate change. We are experiencing the worst drought in 40 years and this has affected productivity leading to food insecurity, that is why we have embedded Environment and Climate Action as a key pillar. Our main initiative is participating in the national tree growing restoration campaign. As the Office of the First Lady, we have set to grow 500 million trees by 2032.”
The Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) is an advocacy organisation for African First Ladies with a vision to create a continent where women and children are healthy, empowered, and able to contribute to national development.
The organisation aims to mobilise political will and resources to address critical health and socio-economic issues that affect women and children across the African continent.
