By Petronella Sibeene
WINDHOEK
The seventh sub-regional workshop on capacity-building of the Network of African Women Ministers and Parliamentarians (NAWMP) on Advocacy, Leadership and Resource Mobilization starts in Windhoek today.
Thirty-two MPs from seven SADC countries are expected to attend.
Organized by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNDP), the workshop will discuss ways in which member countries can better implement the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action.
The programme revolves around issues pertaining to the monitoring and evaluation of population and reproductive health policies.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare, Sirkka Ausiku, yesterday said the workshop will bring visions of national networks in line with those of NAWMP. This will help countries to identify priority challenges to be taken up in the areas of population and development, gender equality, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS.
“The workshop aims to build skills in advocacy, resource mobilization, leadership and gender equality; and to develop country-specific projects on advocacy and resource mobilization”, she said.
NAWMP was created to aid in the facilitation and implementation of recommendations of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, Egypt.
The Network aims to achieve gender equality, equity and women empowerment as well as to advocate for the protection, promotion and advancement of the rights of women and children.
The Network also promotes a reformed governance system where the rights of women are protected and their full participation in decision-making is guaranteed.
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Libertina Amathila is expected to officially open the workshop, which will run from today until Friday.
It is the second time for Namibia to host NAWMP. The first was in 2000.
Participating countries at the workshop are Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.