Focusing on challenges confronting adolescent girls; Key step to achieving SDG targets

The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, has underscored the need for continuous focus on challenges confronting adolescent girls as a key step to achieving many of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

She explained that although adolescent girls faced numerous challenges and continued to experience elevated HIV vulnerability with the greatest risk of exposure, hardly had they been at the centre of discussions on the issue at the global and international levels.

 At the High-level event organised by the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) on the margins of the 71st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York, the First Lady, who is also the President of OAFLA, said the organisation recognised that many of its member countries had large populations of young people.

Reflecting on current challenges

She added that the meeting offered OAFLA an opportunity to reflect on the current challenges and gaps in relation to improving sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescent girls and then to look ahead at how to make that a reality. 

The event, attended by first ladies from a number of countries across the world, development partners and donors, ministers of state, technical advisers, goodwill ambassadors, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and youth ambassadors, was on the theme: ‘Improving the Sexual and Reproductive  Health of Adolescent Girls: The Role of First Ladies’.

The president of OAFLA said globally, AIDS was the leading cause of death among women and girls of the reproductive age 15-49, with about 14 million children orphaned due to AIDS. 

She said the World Health Organisation (WHO) also estimated that one out of every six deaths in Africa was due to HIV; and 70 per cent of these were among adolescent girls. 

African First Ladies

“Already, the First Ladies of Africa have helped to diversify resources by strengthening partnerships with development partners, the private sector, philanthropic bodies and donor organisations,” she said. 

This, she said, had ensured that many more girls had been reached with sexual reproductive health and rights services, as well as skills building and empowerment programmes. 

The First Lady said OAFLA had strongly advocated effective policies and strategies towards the reduction of maternal and child mortality and the empowerment of women and children through the building and sustaining of strategic partnerships at global, regional and community levels.

Mrs Mahama said the launch of the United Continental 'All In' Adolescent HIV campaign in Ghana in February this year on the sidelines of the Seventh Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights calls on countries to begin listening, involving and including young people in efforts to reduce new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths.

She said the African First Ladies agreed at that meeting that the best practice was to build the capacity of adolescents and have them lead the efforts.

OAFLA members

She explained that OAFLA members have,therefore, begun operationalising the campaign through the development of a number of country-level and community outreach plans, adding that “We are organising events to intensify the momentum generated, targeting adolescents, especially adolescent girls in our respective countries.”

Partnerships

“We have some very ambitious Sustainable Development Goals to achieve and only 14 more years within which to do so. We have our development and private sector partners in this meeting,” she said. 

For her part, the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Mrs Sia Korama, appealed to donors for more support to enable OAFLA to continue with its work. 

The First Lady of Japan, HE Akie Abe, commended the African First Ladies for working hard to alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable and pledged her support to assist OAFLA carry out its mandate.