#WeAreEqual: Amplifying Change Through Collaboration

The Organization of African First Ladies (OAFLAD), an advocacy-based organisation, has a history of launching impactful campaigns. One of the recent flagship initiatives, the #WeAreEqual Campaign, was introduced during OAFLAD’s 20th-anniversary celebration in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in June 2023. This year-long campaign emphasizes the urgency of advancing gender equity and closing the gender gap in Africa, focusing on four key action areas: health care, gender-based violence, education, and economic empowerment. To date, 18 countries have launched this campaign, each championing specific issues within these four pillars.

Given the significant traction the campaign has generated among member states and partners, OAFLAD will elevate this initiative and launch #WeAreEqualinAction, the second phase of the campaign, which will merge advocacy, action, and collaboration and will be designed to deepen the campaign’s impact at the country level.

Each year, OAFLAD successfully leverages the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York as an annual platform to convene member states and partners. This key event has helped highlight annual organisational priorities and strengthen partnerships. In the last two years, the annual event has attracted high-calibre attendees and mobilised renewed commitments by member states to advance OAFLAD’s priorities. In 2023, OAFLAD capitalised on this moment by introducing the unified campaign to a more global audience and launched the #WeAreEqual campaign’s official call to action, covering ten action areas governments must focus on to close the gender gap.

The 2024 event, under the theme #WeAreEqual: Amplifying Change Through Collaboration, presents an opportunity to reflect on the success of the campaign’s first year and encourage First Ladies and partners to deepen and sustain change for women and girls at the country level and in their communities.