UNLESS gender equality is embedded in Africa’s macro economic planning, public financing, peace and security, the continent’s development will remain incomplete, President John Dramani Mahama has noted.

Delivering the keynote address at the high level breakfast meeting at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, President Mahama said Africa cannot grow by leaving its women behind.

He said despite decades of declarations, Africa’s gender agenda remains chronically under funded as gender responsible programmes are the first casualties of fiscal constraints.

“When we decide to implement austerity, gender responsive programmes are the first to suffer. Women’s right groups are expected to implement transformational outcomes with very minimal resources ,” he bemoaned.

“Efforts to prevent violence against girls and women are severely under resourced and girls education particularly beyond basic levels continue to face persistent financial gaps, yet the evidence is unequivocal. Gender equality makes economic sense.”

According to him, investment in women increases productivity because every woman entrepreneur creates jobs and every girl educated multiplies prosperity and every barrier removed unleashes innovation.

“Our resolve must be anchored in strong continental instruments that must be moved decisively from paper to implementation,” he stated.

He urged the remaining countries to ratify the Maputo protocol, “one of the world’s most progressive human rights instruments which guarantees comprehensive right to African women and girls” as 46 states have ratified it.

President Mahama decried what he called the slow progress in ratifying the February 2025 AU convention on ending violence against women and girls; assuring that Ghana’s Parliament would ratified the convention during this session.

“Violence against women and girls is not only a moral outrage but an economic catastrophe costing Africa billions annually in health care, lost productivity, and justice expenditures while devastating families and communities,” he noted.

“Ratification of this convention will be a clear declaration that violence against women has no place in our society. These instruments are not merely gender frameworks. They are the cornerstone of Africa’s human rights and development architecture. Frameworks matter but political will matters more.”

As the Africa Union champion for Gender development issues and financial institutions, President Mahama said he was working to place gender equality at the center of governance, economic management and social policy.

To him, Africa’s low gender index must be a constant reminder of how far the continent has to go as it reenforces the urgency of sustained collective action.

“At a time of global uncertainty and economic shocks, climate crisis, and growing resistance to gender equality, Africa must stand firm. Gender equality is non-negotiable.”

He outlined five pillars around which if the continent rallied gender matters would be on the front burner of national discourse.

They are political leadership and advocacy, resource mobilisation, policy coherence, accountability and monitoring and partnership and collaboration.