DAR ES SALAAM, Nov 15 (NNN-DAILYNEWS) — TANZANIA will Wednesday host a three-day international conference on gender financing, which is set to bring together Ministers of Finance and Gender from 22 African countries.
The conference has been prepared by the government in collaboration with the United Nations- Women (UN Women) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through Afritac East (AFE).
Minister for Finance,Dr Mwigulu Nchemba told journalists on Tuesday that the aim of the conference is to offer a chance to participants to address gender gaps, and women empowerment to achieve Sustainable Development Goals-(SDGs).
The Minister named countries whose ministers have confirmed attendance as Burundi, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
He said the first day of the meeting will bring together ministers of gender and finance from countries which are members of the IMF Afritac East.
The ministers will discuss the implementation of the generation equality forum, economic justice and rights as well as a promise to finance the matters in respective countries.
Director of Africa Regional Technical Assistance Centre (AFRITAC) for East Africa Xiangming Li hailed President Samia Suluhu Hassan for her leadership in the generation equality initiatives, saying this guides the country towards a more inclusive, equitable and prosperous future.
She said the collaboration between the ministry of Finance and the ministry of Gender was a vivid evidence to a joint commitment to the financing of gender equality.
“In co- hosting this conference, you have laid the foundation for constructive dialogue, innovative solutions and tangible actions to boost gender equality and, ultimately, economic growth potential.
Currently, only 47 per cent of women are active in the labour market, compared to 72 per cent of men,” she said.
She said there is a lot of untapped potential in emerging and developing economies, adding that the IMF estimates that narrowing this gap even by 6- percentage points could boost GDP by 8 percent. — NNN-DAILYNEWS
