The United Nations has underlined the need for governments all over the world to put women and girls at the centre of their efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the world, as the panacea for economic recovery.
This call was made by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, Amina Mohammed, while speaking at a Dangote Women’s Network (DWN) webinar titled: ‘Choosing to Challenge for a Win-Win: Overcoming Challenges in a Gender-Biased World’, to commemorate the International Women’s Day, which is marked in March every year.
During a virtual video call from the UN Headquarters in New York, Ms. Mohammed, who was the main Speaker at the DWN Webinar, said gender equality and women’s rights are essential to getting through the pandemic, to recovering faster, and to building a better future for the world.
Besides, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, in his welcome remarks at the event, reiterated commitment to the empowerment of all categories of women, saying this was a top priority of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), the philanthropic arm of the Group.
The UN Chief, in her presentation said putting women and girls at the centre of any economic recovery plan would fundamentally drive better and more sustainable development outcomes for all, support a more rapid recovery, and place the world back on a footing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Everything we do during and after the COVID-19 crisis must aim to build more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies. This is perhaps the clearest lesson emerging from the pandemic. This includes gender-responsive economic and social policies and placing women’s economic lives at the heart of the pandemic response and recovery plans,” she insisted.
Mohammed, who said the COVID-19 pandemic is deepening the already existing gender inequalities and vulnerabilities in the social, political and economic systems, insisted that there is need for governments around the world to take urgent steps to protect women and expand support services that would reduce the impact of the pandemic on them
