Meghan spoke to students and academics at a roundtable discussion at the University of Johannesburg.

"When a women is empowered it changes absolutely everything in the community," she told the group.

The Sussexes are on a 10-day tour in which Prince Harry has visited a minefield and he, Meghan and their baby son Archie met Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The duchess announced three new "gender grants" for the University of Johannesburg, Stellenbosch University and the University of Western Cape at the beginning of Tuesday's discussion with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).

Meghan took over from the Queen as patron of the ACU in January.

It is the penultimate day of the Sussexes' overseas tour

Well-wishers cheered Meghan on at the University of Johannesburg

"The goal here is to be able to have gender equality, to be able to support women as they are working in research and higher education roles," she told the discussion group.

"True to what you said, when a women is empowered it changes absolutely everything in the community and starting an educational atmosphere is really a key point of that," she added.

Meghan said she was only able to go to university herself because of financial help from a scholarship and "families chipping in".

"If you don't have the support that is necessary that you feel that you can keep taking the next step then you're stunted in growth," she said.

Meghan attended a roundtable discussion about the challenges faced by young women in accessing higher education

Well-wishers cheered as the duchess was greeted by Susana Glavan, director of the British Council in South Africa, and Professor Tshilidzi Marwala, vice chancellor of the university.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Sussex told a group of young people to "hold onto your dreams" as he visited a health centre in a remote village in Malawi.

Sitting outside the Mauwa Health Centre, they discussed sexual health but also touched on climate change and conservation.

A health official said: "They asked him what challenges he faced when growing up and he did have challenges but he said they were not similar as the context was different.

The official added that the prince also urged the youngsters to "show kindness, empathy and work together."

Prince Harry was speaking in a village in rural Malawi

The prince had travelled to the village of Blantyre to see the pharmacy-in-a-box project, funded by the UK and US governments.

The pharmacies are prefabricated, solar-powered and air-conditioned storage facilities for medicines, which keep drugs secure, held at the right temperature, and stocked up.

At the health centre, patients can access a range of services from malaria treatment to a maternity unit, as well as HIV testing and aftercare for those who have the virus.

Speaking about the drugs used to treat an HIV patient, Prince Harry said: "You need to know your status and know there's medication, so you can have a happy and healthy life."