By Amara Thoronka
Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on Friday, 8th March, joined the commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD), highlighting some achievements of the President Julius Maada Bio led administration in empowering women and promoting their welfare.
The Vice President joined women from all walks of life at the Miatta Conference Hall Garden as a guest speaker on ‘Invest in Women Accelerate Progress’ – the theme for this year’s Women’s Day.
“On International Women’s Day this year, I can proudly say that we have more women in Parliament, Cabinet and strategic leadership positions than any other time in the history of Sierra Leone,” he said.
He recalled that, when they came to power in 2018, it was clearly written in His Excellency Julius Maada Bio’s manifesto that they would be a progressive government that will provide the opportunity and environment for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
“We took a multifaceted approach, looked across all sectors and mapped out a solid plan. Our primary focus was to ensure girls stay in school with our free education initiative. Education is the most powerful tool, and we are committed to providing each and every student with a high quality education. We designed the opportunity for poor rural families to receive an education, and established nurseries and schools around markets so that children can attend classes whilst their mothers work nearby. We increased the budgetary allocation to 22% and that resulted in the increased enrolment and retention rate of girls in school. Additionally, we focused on maternal and infant health, progressively increased the budget from 6% to 11.2% and reduced maternal mortality by 38%,” Vice President Jalloh explained.
The Second Gentleman of Sierra Leone thanked and appreciated women, civil society organizations including women’s groups and development partners for “their immense contributions over the years to advancing the cause of women in Sierra Leone.”
Sending a message to women in positions of trust, the Vice President said: “I encourage women in leadership roles to use their platforms to promote national cohesion and the positive image of our country as we continue to build on the gains we have made as a country.”
He also recognized to role of the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs in promoting the rights and welfare of women.
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and the challenges therein.
Copyright –Published in Expo Times News on Monday, March 11th, 2024 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)