The President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta has been lauded for his efforts in championing the gender equality agenda in Africa.

Speaking when she met with President Kenyatta on the sidelines of the ongoing Women Deliver 2019 Conference, the President and the Chief Executive Officer of the organization Katja Iversen said the Kenyan Head of State’s attendance at the conference sends a lucid notion on women’s importance in development.

“Your commitment to gender equality is evidenced by your presence at the 2019 Women Deliver Conference. Thank you for coming here, your presence sends a message to the African continent on the need to embrace gender equality,” said Ms Iversen.

Iversen also gratified the President for the Nairobi call-to-action, an African gender road map that, among other resolutions, seeks to transport resources to support the various women and girls empowerment initiatives in conflict and post conflict regions of Africa.

She beseeched the President to keep up the good work in support of women and girls even as he pushes for the passage of the two-thirds gender law in Kenya.

President Kenyatta expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the global conference, and he noted that while there are many partners willing to be involved in the gender equality initiatives, there is need for cooperation between governments and non-governmental organizations to foster mechanisms that will ensure they pull in one direction and ensure that these institutions complement rather than compete with each other.

 “I’m glad that I attended this conference. It is a meeting with a difference. It is indeed a game changer”.

 “A lot of resources are wasted out there because NGO’s and Governments run different programmes all concerned with one agenda.

“If these resources were put together then a lot will be achieved. What needs to be discussed is the role of data collected on gender equality and its value in achieving the desired goals,” Kenyatta added.

On the two-thirds gender rule, President Kenyatta reiterated his commitment to achieving the goal saying he will do his best in rallying other leaders in the country to play their role in the passage of the law so as to fulfil the constitutional requirement.

“I will reach out to my fellow leaders because time has come for us to pull together to further this agenda,” said the President.

He thereby expressed optimism that a lot will have been achieved on gender equality in Africa by the time the next Women Deliver Conference is held.