President named AU Gender Champion for 2017
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has named President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the African Union (AU) Gender Champion for 2017.
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Announcing the award, the Chairperson of the AU Commission (AUC), Professor Alpha Condé, said apart from President Akufo-Addo’s efforts to ensure that women were well-placed within the scheme of national affairs, he had gone the extra mile in carrying that effort through to the international level.
Earlier this year, President Akufo-Addo was appointed by President Condé as the Chairperson of the AU’s Committee on Gender and Development.
President Akufo-Addo was given the award at the opening ceremony of the 29th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU currently underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Continental champion
The citation accompanying the award said President Akufo-Addo was being honoured “in recognition of your efforts in gender equality at the continental level as the AU Gender Champion for the Year 2017”.
President Akufo-Addo was not readily available for his comments on the award, but the Communications Director at the Presidency, Mr Eugene Arhin, told the Daily Graphic that the President was delighted by the award and the recognition of the work he had been doing.
He said the President had always been passionate about ensuring that women, who constituted a bigger percentage of the world’s population, especially in Africa, were given the due recognition and support.
That, he explained, was in view of the fact that given the needed impetus, women stood a higher chance of accelerating the pace of Africa’s development through their selfless and hardworking ways.
More impetus
Mr Arhin said the award would not only serve as a recognition of the President’s efforts but also spur him on to do more for the realisation of the best goals in furtherance of gender enhancement and betterment.
He said even at the country level, the President had shown his avowed commitment to ensure gender parity in the appointments that he had made to national offices.
He was, therefore, optimistic that the years ahead would see more efforts aimed at maximising the output of women and also ensuring that children had the best in furtherance of their lives.
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