By: Ishmael Bayoh, Information Attachè, Sierra Leone Embassy Dakar, Senegal
Sierra Leone’s First Lady and President of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), Her Excellency Mrs. Fatima Maada Bio, has called for a shift in the way African women are portrayed, urging society to tell their stories not only as victims of crises, but as builders of resilience, leaders of recovery, and architects of solutions.
The First Lady made the call on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, at the Evasion Marine Conference Centre in Dakar, Senegal, where she was honoured to lead the official launch of the “Building Resilience Campaign,” a continental initiative under her leadership as President of OAFLAD.
The campaign is now being pioneered by the First Lady of Senegal, Her Excellency Mrs. Marie Khone Faye, as part of efforts to amplify the voices, experiences, and contributions of African women in building resilient communities and societies.
The launch brought together other African First Ladies as it reflects their collective commitment to strengthening the resilience of women and girls in the face of climate change, conflict, and other challenges affecting their health, dignity, and livelihoods.
Mrs. Fatima Bio echoed the call that Africa cannot build a resilience society while having half of its population lagging behind. She emphasized that women and girls must be the future and should be included in decision making.
“We cannot speak about climate change without speaking about women farmers and cannot speak about peace without women meaningfully participating; and cannot speak about economic recovery without investing in women entrepreneurship, and as well as cannot speak about the future without protecting girl’s education” Mrs. Fatima Bio stated.
The First Lady also brought her practical experiences with her own campaign in Sierra Leone: ‘Hands Off Our Girls’ where social transformation did not happen through one institution or one voice, but it happened where the government, communities, traditional authorities, religious leaders, civil societies, media, young people, development partners and the women themselves came together to actualize their campaign.
She admonished that the work of First Ladies should move away from awareness to action and to policies, to investment unto measurable impact.
