In a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mr Charles Abani, United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator to Ghana, who was speaking at the event dubbed “Bugum,” said the UN through its 35 agencies in Ghana and within the structure of the partnership framework with the Government of Ghana, was heavily focused on women empowerment and growth.

He said during the Covid-19 crisis, women reacted positively and were resilient largely because they had built strong network amidst cash shortage at the peak of the pandemic.

“If we extend this natural experiment and extrapolate this to the world of politics and business, we can easily see the positive outcomes to us all,” he said.

He congratulated Ghana’s efforts in maintaining peace, harmony and dignity of women, even though the occasional localised conflicts and regional flare-ups in neighboring countries could undermine Ghana’s total efforts.

Mrs Fidelia Graand Galon, Ambassador of the Republic of Suriname to Ghana, said, ”gender equality is important, the UN advocates a ‘leave- no -one- behind’, mantra which should be interpreted as ensuring that all men are carried along to support this agenda, globally.”

Mr Aliyu Ndaman, Deputy Head of Mission of the Nigeria High Commission to Ghana, also noted that the challenges faced in Ghana were similar to those in Nigeria.

He said in many rural communities in both countries, young women are forced to prioritise marriage over their education.

He said in his personal experience, this has changed in his community as the men in the community led the change for equality in terms of access to education.

Mr Ndaman said, “I personally encouraged my wife to further her education, despite societies pressure and we are all the better for it, men must lead the change for gender equality.”

“We in Nigeria are further propelled to promote this, when we consider the examples of Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, currently the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Madam Amina Mohammed, currently the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.”

The UN maintains a network of offices in Ghana and West Africa, supporting peace, security and development in the sub-region.

Ghana joined the UN as one of the first sub-Saharan countries, on March 8, 1957, two days after her Independence. Many Ghanaians have served within the UN’s services, notably Kofi Annan, who rose to the apex rank of Secretary -General.