The Sixth meeting of Ministers in charge of Women/Gender Affairs of IGAD Member States was convened from 29th to 30th November 2010 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting, which was preceded by IGAD Gender Experts Meeting conducted between 27th and 28th in the same venue, was attended by Ministers and State Ministers in charge of Women/Gender Affairs of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan and Uganda as well as experts in the respective ministries and delegates from UNECA, UNIFEM, and the African Union Commission.
The objectives of the Experts and Ministerial Meetings were to update delegates on the achievements and challenges of the Gender Affairs Program of IGAD Secretariat since September 2007, to review country situational assessment reports, share ideas and exchange experiences as well as synthesize a regional report, as a bench mark for developing an IGAD approach to address priority issues.
The meeting presented the findings of the Gender and HIV/AIDS Assessment Regional Report conducted recently to seek policy directions and to inform on the status of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in the IGAD Region.
The ministerial meeting listened to a report of the IGAD Gender Experts Group meeting which discussed on the agenda and articulated issues pertinent to the defined objectives as well as other emerging regional and international issues.
The meeting adopted the report and on the basis of what has been presented, made a declaration emphasizing on the way forward to attain Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the region.
