Nouakchott, Mauritania – March 18th, 2022: The Regional Steering Committee (RSC) of the Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project is holding its 6th ordinary session on March 24th, 2022 in Nouakchott, Mauritania. The official opening ceremony will be enhanced by the presence of the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Bilal Messoud.
The 6th ordinary session of the RSC takes place in a context of expansion and scaling up of the project as a model of development and reduction of gender inequalities. Enjoying renewed confidence from the World Bank, financial partner, the project, which is in phase 2, is characterized by a considerable increase in targets, 30 times higher and a 127% increase in funding to cover 3 times more regions.
The rotating presidency of the RSC is ensured this year by Mauritania, in the person of Mr. Ousmane Mamoudou Kane, Minister of Economic Affairs and Promotion of Productive Sectors.
« Mauritania, land of welcome and hospitality, is honored to receive in face-to-face mode the sixth ordinary session of the Regional Steering Committee of the Sahel Women's Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) Project. I am delighted with the control of the Covid-19 pandemic, paving the way for a relaunch of the activities of the SWEDD Project in all their forms. »
Mr. Ousmane Mamoudou Kane, President of the Regional Steering Committee.
The RSC is the supreme governance body of the SWEDD project. Composed of the supervising Ministers of the member countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad), the Regional Steering Committee ensures the coordination and supervision of the Project and meets at least once a year to review progress, examine and approve proposed work plans from countries and technical assistance partners.
The SWEDD now extends to new countries in West and Central Africa with the arrival of the Republic of Congo, Gambia, Senegal and Togo.
In this dynamic of consolidation, the next meeting of the RSC will also welcome the supervisory ministers of the candidate countries. It will be attended by representatives of technical and financial partners (World Bank, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), West African Health Organization (WAHO), African Union and the French Development Agency) and African Regional Economic Committees (RECs).
The Regional Steering Committee, a platform for exchanges between the countries and their partners, will be preceded by the meeting of the national coordinators of the SWEDD project. It will (i) endorse the 2021 report, (ii) validate the main axes of the 2022 planning and (iii) identify the prospects for strengthening partnerships for the extension of the SWEDD and the positioning of women's empowerment themes, in particular the maintenance of girls in school, including in the context of crisis.
About SWEDD project
Launched in November 2015 with the financial support of the World Bank, the technical support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the West African Health Organization (WAHO), and through the strategic partnership with the he African Union, the SWEDD project aims overall to accelerate the demographic transition, to trigger the demographic dividend and to reduce gender inequalities in the Sahel region and beyond. This involves (i) creating demand for reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and nutritional health (SRMNIN) services by promoting social and behavioral change, including the abandonment of socio-cultural practices harmful to the expression the potential of adolescent girls, and the empowerment of women and girls; (ii) improve the supply of reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and nutritional health products and qualified personnel; and (iii) strengthen advocacy, high-level consultation and capacities for the development of policies and their implementation.
Press contacts:
Marie Chantal UWITONZE, | Communication officer, Regional Technical Secretariat of the SWEDD/UNFPA WCARO project |Phone: +22178 38 77 442 | Email: uwitonze@unfpa.org
Mamoudou Ba| NPO Communication & Resource Mobilization UNFPA Mauritania| Phone. +222 28 67 34 44 | Email: maba@unfpa.org
Siham Babana |Technical Assistant in Communication of the PMU SWEDD Mauritania | Phone. +222 42 43 81 44| Email: siham.babana2@gmail.com
