Society

As SDGs 2030 deadline approaches: Minister Abena Ondoa drums unity to achieve gender equality.

Minister alongside representative of other organisations at end of presentation

The Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Therese Abena Ondoa, has called for concerted efforts to make real Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, number five, on achieving gender equality for women and girls.
Minister Abena Ondoa made the appeal during a webinar last Thursday in Yaounde.

She used the meeting to update international stakeholders on Cameroon’s strides towards achieving gender equality.

The meeting was an evaluation of UN agencies on the road covered in implementing SDG No 5. With the 2030 deadline set to achieve SDGs barely six years away from now, the minister underscored the need for concerted efforts.

“Indeed, six years before the expiry of the 2030 Agenda, SDGs 1 and 5 which are; to end extreme poverty in all forms and achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls will not be achieved unless strong international partnerships are set up to support inclusive sustainable development that benefits both men and women,” Minister Abena Ondoa remarked.

Cameroon, Minister Abena Ondoa said, has ratified key legal instruments to safeguarding the rights of women and girls. Additionally, she mentioned the adoption and subsequent updates of a gender policy aligned with global and regional agendas.

The moves, she averred, are meant to integrate gender perspectives in national development strategies.

She further indicated that gender mainstreaming initiatives have been pivotal in driving policy implementation, with the establishment of gender focal points across public, semi-public, and private sectors. Government ministries, Prof Abena Ondoa added, have formed gender committees tasked with advancing gender equality within their respective domains.

She sustained that the actions reflect a commitment to institutionalising gender-responsive practices.

Minister Abena Ondoa delivering presentation

Speaking at the event, the Programs Policy Officer who is also Head of Gender and Protection at World Food Programme, WFP Cameroon, Dr Zarah Lillian Mokgosi, saluted gains made by government in empowering girls and women.

Dr Mokgosi remarked that: “Resilience building will reduce some of the underlying causes to inequalities, gender transformation which is being championed by the Cameroonian government through working with partners”.

Other speakers at the online meeting were; Aditi Mukherji of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation, UNESCO; Raquel Lagunas, Director, Gender Equality at the United Nations Development Program, UNDP; Christina Duarte, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Special Adviser on Africa; and Papa Seck, Chief of Research and Data at UN Women

The report on the road covered in implementing the SDG No.5 is the outcome of work done by many UN institutions.

Some of them are; UN Women; UNDP, United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA; United Nations International Children Emergency Fund, UNICEF, and World Food Programme, WFP.

Stakeholders asserted during yesterday’s meeting the urgent need to fortify legal frameworks in promoting gender equality.

They are also pushing for the review and enhancement of existing laws, coupled with robust implementation strategies to bridge gaps in legislation.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No3127 of Friday May 31, 2024