June 8, 2005 – (The Post) FIRST ladies from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) member states have urged women in the region to actively participate in COMESA programmes on women in business in order to attain economic empowerment.

According to the final communique released at the end of the second roundtable meeting of the COMESA first ladies held in Kigali, Rwanda, the first ladies discussed, among other issues economic empowerment of women and the fight against HIV/AIDS within the COMESA member states.
"We agree that the first ladies of the COMESA region should continue to play a role in advocating for the mainstreaming of women's economic empowerment in the fight against HIV/AIDS," the statement read in part.

The first ladies also acknowledged the approval and adoption of the COMESA gender policy, the action plan by the COMESA Ministers of Gender and Women's Affairs and the Council of Ministers respectively and the development of the COMESA HIV/AIDS and gender strategy by the COMESA secretariat.

"While commending progress made in the advocacy activities related to HIV/AIDS, gender and economic empowerment of women, especially the disadvantaged, we recognise that many obstacles still exist that hinder the economic progress of women with negative consequences to their financial, social and health status," the statement read.

The first ladies of the COMESA member states agreed to encourage initiatives of women in business in the COMESA region with emphasis on vulnerable women and to play an advocacy role in the implementation of the COMESA gender policy and the action plan in partnership with the ministries in charge of gender in COMESA member states.

"We commit ourselves to create links between the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) and regional economic communities in Africa, to encourage the inclusion of integrated approaches to economic empowerment of women, and the fight against HIV/AIDS, in their respective programmes and to encourage the COMESA secretariat through its Women in Business/Gender and Social Affairs Unit to support the advocacy actions of the first ladies," the statement read.

The first ladies called upon the private sector and cooperating partners to support the national and regional efforts in place to promote the economic empowerment of women and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

The meeting was chaired by the Rwandan first lady, Jeannette Kagame, and was dubbed "Economic Empowerment of Women and Fighting HIV/AIDS in the Region".

From: http://allafrica.com/stories/200506080502.html