On this year’s World Menstrual Health Day held on 28^th May 2021, FAWE Eswatini (FAWEESWA) marked the day through handing out of dignity and hygiene packs in schools across the country. Sponsored by a metal recycling company based in Sidwashini Mbabane, FAWEESWA distributed sanitary towels, face clothes, toothpaste, underarm deodorant, and tooth brushes to about 1,500 pupils.

The pupils were drawn from five selected schools which have previously worked with FAWEESWA in various projects. The schools, located in hard to reach and poor rural areas are as follows: Manyovu Primary School in the Lubombo Region, Emnotfweni School in Manzini, Nkwene Primary School, Ka Mbhoke High School in the Shiselweni Region and Nkiliji primary Schools in Manzini Region.

In the past, on menstruation day, FAWEESWA was accustomed to organizing meetings for girls to have different activities such as games and quizzes on different issues affecting them as they grow. This time around, FAWEESWA sought donation of the dignity packs as a result of previous discussions with school going children. The team came to a realization that both girls and boys desperately needed support for their everyday hygiene.

“In addition to giving out the dignity packs in each school that we visited, we spoke about menstruation and maturation to both boys and girls. We had 2 teams going to different schools. It was such a joy to see those young faces brightening up with joy on receiving the dignity packs.” Said Ms. Khetsiwe Dlamini, National Chapter Coordinator, FAWEESWA.

The FAWEESWA team packed the items into small packages which consisted of toothpaste, toothbrushes, face clothes, underarm deodorant and sanitary towels for the girls.

To celebrate this year Day of the African Child, the Forum for Africa Women Educationalists (FAWE) Africa Alumni convened a webinar exploring the progress made over the 30 years to girls’ access, retention and completion of school with a major focus on the kind of pressures girls face to complete and transit among different levels of education. The webinar featured Alumni voices including: current adolescent girls, those who ventured into governments’ education leadership spaces/positions, academia and human rights representatives from across the FAWE network. It also brought in voices from teachers, religious and community leaders. The discussions drew on experiences across Africa and provided insights into regional efforts to tackle barriers to girls’ education. Additionally, the webinar focused on discussing and agreeing on ways to strengthen and revamp the FAWE Africa Alumni network.

Moderated by Ms. Teta Kayitaba, FAWE Africa Alumni chairperson, the webinar sought to highlight real-time psychosocial, economic and cultural pressures and experiences of the girl child as they pursue different levels of education. Additionally, the webinar also showcased change making initiatives that are encouraging girls to beat the odds in completing their education; recommended good multi-stakeholder practices from countries in Africa that have enabled more girls to stay in school.

“There is need for all alumni to share their details which help in updating the FAWE Alumni database. The database will enable FAWE get information on where our alumni are, what they are doing, and the areas they would like to support FAWE in. Alumni should feel free to share their stories with FAWE for publication; this will help increase FAWE’s visibility.” Said Teta Kayitaba, FAWE Africa Alumni chairperson.

It was pointed out that poverty contributes negatively to girls’ education. Most girls are unable to afford sanitary towels and some parents are unable to raise funds to support their school fees. Lack of emotional support and minimal awareness creation on sexual reproductive health and rights education were also pointed out as challenges. It was also noted that FAWE has had a great impact in the lives of many girls by providing scholarship packages and building the self -esteem of girls through the Tuseme model.

While giving the key note address, Eng. Joy Makumbe, alumni from FAWE Zimbabwe noted that there is need for alumni members to come together and support other girls by mentoring and providing them with sanitary pads, and contributing to their school fees. “Barriers to girls’ education continue to persist in Africa and so there is need to continue advocating for their rights to education.” She added.

The panelists of the webinar included alumni drawn from different FAWE National Chapters as outlined below:

• Bridget Akurut – FAWE/GPE Youth Leader from FAWE Uganda
• Felix Agbogibor – FAWE Togo Alumni
• Diana Atsieno – FAWE Kenya Alumni
• Grace Nanyonga – FAWE Uganda Alumni
• Lamin Jarjussey – FAWE Gambia Alumni
• Wendy Muzite – FAWE Zimbabwe
• Bakary Abdou – FAWE Senegal.

Wendy Muzite, from FAWE Zimbabwe and Bakary Abdou from Senegal gave a vote of thanks to all the alumni who participated and organizers of the webinar. They pointed out the need to continuous engagement within the network.

Linda Mabhena-Olagunju is an exceptional power woman breaking ground in one of Africa’s most male-dominated fields – renewable energy.

“Without power Africa cannot grow. Electricity is the backbone of any modern economy and my business is at the forefront of providing access to power, in the most cost effective and clean way,” Linda Mabhena-Olagunju, tells New African Woman. And that is a loaded truth.

As founder and CEO of DLO Energy Resources Group,  an Independent Power Producer (IPP) based in South Africa, which is wholly driven by black women, Linda Mabhena-Olagunju not only owns, but develops, builds and operates renewable energy power plants, which generating electricity from clean natural resources such as the sun or wind.

She runs one of the largest wind farms in Africa, which operates at a 244MW capacity and  also delivers carbon free solar power to over 160,000 homes in South Africa. An extraordinary feat in a field which is mainly male-led and owned.

It’s not surprising therefore that ( among other accolades) Linda has been listed on the 20 most powerful women in Africa on Oprah’s Winfrey Power List, as well as being honoured with the Best Emerging Entrepreneur Award by Forbes Woman Africa.

The New African Woman caught up with this trailblazing entrepreneur and here, in her own words, she shares her inspirational journey:  

Early Beginnings & Family

I grew up in the Eastern Cape in a small town of Umtata until 1993, when I moved to Johannesburg with my parents. So the formative years of my life were in Johannesburg.

I have 2 brothers one older and one younger. My dad is an attorney by profession but subsequently he started his own business and my mum is a teacher by training and she also joined my dad in his company.

My mum’s side of family was actively involved in the struggle against apartheid, I remember my uncle constantly being chased by the police and I remember some of them fleeing into exile as a result. My most significant memory was when the police came to raid my grandmother’s house to search for my uncle. I remember feeling completely vulnerable and scared.

Growing up experiencing racism even at school taught me to be vocal, I always fought for the students that were too afraid to speak up for themselves. I learnt to be super independent because I had no choice but to be, I also learnt the essence of education as a ticket to a better life. So I took school seriously, I was always the top student.

I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. My first business was at the age of six, when I used to sell sweets to other students at school. But the seed for the work I do today got planted when I saw a map of Africa listing all of its natural resources and I was baffled as to why we remained poor. I wanted to get involved in the management of our resources and see whether I could contribute to doing things differently.

I studied oil and gas law and at the time there was a downturn in oil prices, so I got a job working for the Aberdeen Council in Scotland, (the United Kingdom)  which was developing the city’s first offshore wind farm. I started there as an admin assistant, but the CEO saw great potential in me and within a few months I was the project officer for this offshore wind farm development.

The seed for the work I do today got planted when I saw a map of Africa listing all of its natural resources and I was baffled as to why we remained poor.

At the same time my home country South Africa was experiencing rolling blackouts and I wanted to see how renewable energy could be used to address the energy deficit back home especially because unlike our other African counterparts we were not an oil producing country.

I came back to South Africa practiced law for a bit and decided that I wanted to be on the other side of the negotiation table, and it is from there that DLO started.

Many studies have shown the direct link between the lack of access to power and economic performance. I wanted to be part of equalizing the playing field for Africans and creating an enabling environment for small business to thrive.

Without power the continent’s potential will forever be hindered.

Career In Business

In 2006 I obtained my LLB from the University of Cape Town, followed by my Masters in International Commercial Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. In 2010 I was admitted as an attorney of the high court of South Africa in the South Gauteng division.

I practiced as a project finance attorney for a number of years prior to starting DLO and this inspired me in the sense that it gave me a bird’s eye view to the sector and I was able to learn a lot from the transactions I participated in.

After leaving legal practicing and becoming in-house counsel for an energy firm, I learnt to look at risk differently and form the viewpoint of an entrepreneur. This experience was what I call a real time MBA. I was learning all I needed to learn from some of the best developers in my sector, I also learnt what not to do, which in itself is a valuable lesson.

The Launch of DLO

In 2011 DLO was established. In 2013 we submitted our bid proposals for the development of a 244MW wind farm under South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP). This programme was designed to procure power from private producers and we were successfully selected as one of the companies to provide power to the national grid and soon after DLO officially became a utility scale power producer and owner in one of Africa’s largest wind farms.

I went from being a startup, to becoming the largest female shareholder in one of Africa’s largest wind farms. I was 29 at the time. It was honestly a whirlwind experience.

One of the key challenges I had to overcome, was access to finance especially as a young woman in this space with no substantial assets base. We applied for funding from the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd and we also put in our own equity.

On Solar Power & Energy

Without power Africa cannot grow. Electricity is the backbone of any modern economy and my business is at the forefront of providing access to power,  in the most cost effective and clean way.

We use clean energy sources such as the wind and sun as such we are bringing down the emissions and assisting in the fight against climate change. It assists Africa and Africans by creating more access to clean power to enable African businesses to functions and the continent at large to educate its people, take care of its ill and feed its hungry.

One of the key challenges I had to overcome, was access to finance especially as a young woman in this space with no substantial assets base

On the power of women in power

For me it starts with spreading knowledge around the sector and having positive female examples to inspire others to join. Often people are very intimidated by our sector but there are so many opportunities across the skills set. I have found that people with a background in finance, legal, engineering, asset management, business management have gone on to do great things in the energy sector.

There are so many online tools right now, more so than when I started. I would encourage people to visit the Power Africa website as a start to understand what is going on with the power sector on the African continent at large and encourage joining local renewable energy focused organisations, attending some conferences in this field, researching the sector and identifying where best your existing skill set could be useful in the sector.

While vaccine equity remains a challenge in Africa, lack of confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is also an increasing issue. In this OpEd, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, and Chebet Chikumbu, Global Citizen Regional Director for Southern and East Africa,  discuss the importance of driving citizen advocacy, in building COVID-19 vaccine confidence in Africa.

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“My family’s source of information is the news and the internet, but the main problem is the fake news they get on social media. They have no confidence in getting a vaccine once it becomes available to them.”

These are the words of Nomthandazo Xaba from Johannesburg, one of a group of young people taking part in a Fellowship Programme in South Africa with international advocacy organisation Global Citizen.

The views held by Nomthandazo’s family are reflected in families and communities throughout the continent, amid a spiralling “infodemic” which is seeing fake news and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines sweeping across Africa and sparking scepticism about the vaccines that are, ultimately, our best way to end the pandemic and save lives.

According to the World Health Organization, just 1% of Africa’s population has received a COVID-19 vaccine to date. When it comes to vaccinating Africa, there are two key issues: vaccine equity, meaning ensuring the vaccines reach Africa’s population; and vaccine confidence, meaning making sure people want to get the vaccine when it’s available to them.

“Infodemic” is seeing fake news and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and sparking scepticism.”

Until recently, our focus has been on vaccine equity, after much of the world’s global supply was bought up by European countries, Canada, and the United States. But, while vaccine equity remains a challenge for our continent, the ongoing lack of confidence in COVID-19 vaccines is increasingly an issue.

WHO’s health experts say people’s worries about COVID-19 vaccines are driven by a variety of factors, from concerns about the quick development of the vaccines and potential side effects, to confused messages over vaccine expiry dates, to misinformation fuelled by the internet and social media.

Myths & misinformation

Inaccurate, misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines has spread like wildfire online and this has been hugely damaging to our vaccine efforts.

Tracking the spread of misinformation on social media is difficult, but African fact-checking organisations say they have debunked over 1,300 misleading reports since the onset of the pandemic.

Widely shared misinformation includes conspiracies around unproven treatments and false cures, inaccurate information about the vaccines themselves, and more. This has created a hesitancy complex within our local communities, a hesitancy that has the power to cost lives.

There are a lot of people already working across Africa to build people’s confidence in the vaccines. But what more can be done to help people feel confident in getting the vaccine?

How do we overcome this challenge?

Building our confidence in the vaccines is ultimately key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, and this needs to be addressed through a clear, concise, factual communications strategy driven by our leaders — not just political leaders, but social, religious, and community leaders too.

Clear messaging

Clear, concise medical information needs to be communicated across our communities.

As another of Global Citizen’s Fellows, Sengie Shabalala, said: “I don’t think the information is missing. I just think it’s not been disseminated properly. It should be simple and straightforward and speak to the masses.”

Increased access to health information

Ensuring populations can access answers to the questions they have about vaccines is also essential.

One platform working on making sure factual information accessible is the Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA), a first-of-its-kind African initiative to combat health misinformation online.

Launched by WHO and a network of fact-checking organisations and leading public health bodies, the initiative’s digital brand Viral Facts Africa^[3] creates health fact checks, explainers, myth busters, and more, all of which are specifically designed to share on social media.

Strong leadership

When uncertainty is rife, strong leadership is key. The majority of Africa’s leaders have aligned with and driven the African Union’s continental strategy on COVID-19.

What’s needed is a united front from leaders across all areas of society — political, social, community, and religious — that agrees on the need for vaccines to reach all of Africa’s people, and for all people to take up the vaccine when it’s offered.

A number of leaders have been doing this — including South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa; Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame; Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo; Cote d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization; Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, and more — and there is need for greater support for vaccines from all of Africa’s leaders.

Community engagement

Vaccine communication should focus on community structures and engaging key members of the community, as has been shown before with the successful rollout of other vaccines.

Another area where community involvement is very-much needed, is in sharing personal experiences of getting vaccinated to help reassure those on the fence.

“I think people only want to see people who have been vaccinated tell their stories,” continues Nomthandazo.

The Global Citizen’s Vax Because, platform seeks to help people do just that, via a website where people globally can share their own and read about other’s vaccine experiences, as well as ask and find expert answers to their questions about vaccines.

The pandemic has once again exposed the inequalities in our global healthcare system. Yet when it comes to a lack of vaccine confidence, this is an issue that we can beat. It’s up to every one of us to ask our questions and share accurate information with our loved ones and communities.

If this isn’t urgently addressed, alongside ensuring equitable vaccine access for all, then there will be no end to the pandemic in the immediate sight.

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Vanessa Moungar, hitherto Director for Gender, Women & Civil Society at the African Development Bank (AfDB) has been appointed head of diversity and inclusion at the leading luxury brands group LVMH.

In her new role, Vanessa will help build a network of diversity and inclusion leaders in different regions; coordinate efforts at the group’s various brands, as well as oversee the global coordination of work on the issue of diversity.

Vanessa will work closely with all LVMH’s stakeholders and will build on a network of well-established Diversity and Inclusion (D & I) leaders in the regions, as well as strong initiatives in our Maisons, to oversee the global coordination of all D & I actions. Diversity and Inclusion are at the core of LVMH’s human resources priorities,  the brand announced in a short statement.

She will work directly under Chantal Gaemperle, executive vice president of human resources and synergies at the luxury group, who said  in about her appointment:

“Vanessa will bring her extensive experience to take our ambition in this field to the next level, and accelerate our efforts in continuously shaping a more diverse and inclusive culture at LVMH.” According to a post on Yahoo Finance News.

Since 2017, Vanessa was one of the pioneering women at the top of the AfDB as Director of Gender, Women and Civil Society. In this role, she drove one of the Bank’s key strategies the “Investing in Gender Equality for Africa’s Transformation” policy.

“After four extraordinary years at the African Development Bank Group, I am moving on to the next chapter, immensely grateful for the opportunity I had to serve the continent from such a unique platform…” Vanessa told wrote on her social media timeline.

During her tenure at the AfDB, she also oversaw flagship programmes such as the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) – which confronts the gender gap in access to finance, and aims at bridging the financing gap, in order to enhance African women’s entrepreneurial capacity.

She was also at the helm of Fashionomics Africa, an AfDB platform that supports the growth of African “Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) operating in the creative industries, notably the fashion, film and food value chain.”

While at the Bank Moungar was appointed to French president Emmanuel Macron’s Presidential Council for Africa – formed to advise him on France’s African policy.

Vanessa, 37, who hails from Chad and has French nationality,is the daughter of former Prime Minister of Fidèle Abdelkérim Moungar, and a staunch advocate of advancing the right sand empowerment of women and youth.