MINPROFF, AFAIRD seal partnership to empower women, girls.

The Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, Prof Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, and the President of AFAIRD, Nathalie Kenmogne, signed the agreement on Tuesday, August 18, in Yaounde. 

Officials said the agreement provides a framework for joint action between the government and the civil society organisation in areas directly linked to the ministry’s missions.

Speaking after putting pen on paper for the deal, the President of AFAIRD said the organisation’s intervention is founded on the belief that sustainable solutions must involve the communities concerned. 

“Our approach is based on a conviction: sustainable solutions must be built with communities, starting from their knowledge and their capacities,” Kenmogne stated.

She noted that at the centre of the partnership is AFAIRD’s project, “Supporting the Establishment of the Support Center for the Positive Transformation of Social Norms in Favor of Women and Young Girls in Central Africa, 2026-2027”, also known as TRANSFORM-ELLES.

The initiative, she said, seeks to establish and operationalise a centre dedicated to the promotion and positive transformation of social norms.

The initiative, she added, seeks to address several challenges affecting women and girls, including menstrual hygiene management, gender-based violence, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, WASH, social protection and the inclusion of young girls in decision-making processes concerning their well-being.

According to Kenmogne, AFAIRD has already implemented initiatives in these areas, including listening centres in schools, toilets adapted for menstrual hygiene management, menstrual waste management facilities and institutionalised menstrual hygiene clubs established through service notes signed by school principals.

The organisation, she said, has also developed mechanisms to monitor girls both at school and at home, with the objective of ensuring that menstruation does not become a reason for absenteeism or school dropout. 

For the AFAIRD’s president, breaking the silence around menstruation remains essential to ensuring that girls receive adequate information and are able to speak openly about their experiences.

She added that AFAIRD, which has 28 years of experience, intends to pursue its work with professionalism, scientific rigour, transparency and proximity to communities. 

The association also plans to mobilise partners to support the establishment of the TRANSFORM-ELLES centre and make it a national lever for social transformation.

Enter minister 

Minister Abena Ondoa on her part, said the partnership comes within a broader policy framework focused on strengthening social protection, promoting peace and living together, preventing family and community conflicts, encouraging positive social practices, protecting children’s rights and building the capacities of key stakeholders.

“The empowerment of girls, protection of the family, and empowerment of women in a context of social education is a priority for MINPROFF,” she stressed, noting that the agreement materialises government efforts to support children, particularly young girls.

The minister said government alone cannot effectively respond to all the needs of the population, reason for the collaboration with civil society organisations. 

The minister described AFAIRD’s background and vision as impressive, particularly because its target population corresponds closely to that of the ministry. 

She acknowledged that financing remains a major challenge in implementing ambitious social programmes, but said both parties would work to mobilise resources required to implement the activities contained in the agreement. She sounded upbeat that collective commitment could help secure the necessary resources.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3884 of Thursday August 20, 2026