8 March 2020

This year’s International Women's Day is being marked under the theme “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights. The Generation Equality campaign is bringing together people of every gender, age, ethnicity, race, religion and country to drive actions that will create the gender-equal world we all deserve.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa is celebrating the day by underscoring its commitment to gender equality.

WHO in the African Region is taking important steps in addressing gender inequities. Strengthening the capacity of female staff through leadership development programmes, mentoring programmes and building a more conducive work environment for women in the Regional Office are among the ongoing measures.

This year, WHO in the African Region and the UN Volunteers Programme have partnered in an initiative to recruit 100 national and international UN volunteers, focusing on young women from the global south in another step to empower women.

Message of Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2020

I am happy to celebrate International Women’s Day with you on 8 March. The theme this year is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights” and it calls on us all to stand on the right side of history, to address inequities, for our peers and for future generations.

In the spirit of this theme, today, I commit to supporting the next generation of female leaders in health in Africa. I am very happy to launch the Africa Young Women Champions Initiative in partnership with the UN Volunteers Programme. In the coming months, we will recruit 100 national and international UN volunteers in the African Region, and we will be targeting young women from the global south to boost equity and empowerment.

Read the full message