On the margins of the Summit of the Future, UNGA 79, First Lady H.E. Fatima Maada Bio joined her African counterparts at a high-level dinner hosted by the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) and partners.

The First Ladies in collaboration with ‘Their World’ have made A Call For Action committing to supporting ‘innovative campaigns such as Act For Early Years and #WeAreEqual, and to continuing dialogues that raise awareness of the importance of investing in early childhood across the African continent’.

This Call For Action focuses on:

‘1. Universal access to quality primary healthcare.

2. Universal access to quality, inclusive pre-school education, and

3. Universal support for families, including affordable and quality childcare, child benefits, and essential support for parents and caregivers’.

First Lady Fatima Maada Bio was able to share her story and childhood experiences that are the driving motivation behind her championing causes to uplift girls in Sierra Leone: from pe
riod poverty to sexual and gender-based violence to the prohibition of child-marriage.

‘Twenty + years ago, I had no one to speak up for me, so I speak now for the girls who have no one to speak for them.’

Source: Sierra Leone News Agency