-H.E Fatima Maada Bio’s, first lady of Sierra Leone, President of OAFLAD and Deputy Chair of Zero Waste,

-H.E Ana Dias Lourenco, First Lady of Angola and Vice-President of OAFLAD, H.E Emine Erdogan, First Lady of Türkiye and chairs the UN Zero Waste Advisory Board,

-H.E Diene Keita, Executive Director, United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA),

-H.E Ahunna Eziakonwa, United Nations Assistant Secretary General  and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Assistant Administrator and Director Regional Director for Africa,

-H.E Amb Liberata Mulamula, African Union Special Envoy on Women Peace and Security,

-Prof. Senait Fisseha, Vice President of The Susan Buffet Thompson Buffet Foundation,

-Representatives of Member States, 

-Partners from the United Nations and International Organizations,

-Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the African Union Commission, it is my profound honour to address you at this critical high-level meeting. We convene at a moment of unprecedented convergence, where climate change has fundamentally become a multiplier of crises, reshaping human security and development prospects across our continent. These are not distant threats but present realities, lived daily by communities from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa, from the Great Lakes to Southern Africa, demanding our urgent and concerted action.

Today’s launch of the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) 2025–2027 campaign, “Building Resilience for Women and Girls in the Face of Climate Change and Conflict,” represents a pivotal commitment to turning the tide. Its pillars of mobilizing investments for resilience and climate action, empowering youth, advancing gender-responsive policy, and strengthening access to essential services are not merely thematic areas, they form the essential architecture for building a sustainable and equitable future for Africa. This is precisely the holistic approach we need.

OAFLAD brings a unique and vital capability to this agenda; the ability to convene key stakeholders across ministries from health and education to finance and gender, while leveraging its deep community trust and unparalleled reach to deliver tangible impact at the last mile. This distinctive positioning makes OAFLAD an indispensable architect and driver of transformative change.

Excellencies, Distinguished Guest, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Africa stands on the frontlines of the climate emergency. Our nations contend with droughts that parch farmland, devastating floods that wipe out livelihoods, desertification that consumes arable land, and rising sea levels that threaten our coastal cities. Although Africa contributes less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, our continent endures the most severe consequences.

These climate shocks act as potent threat multipliers, deepening food and water insecurity, triggering mass displacement, fueling competition over dwindling resources, and exacerbating the root causes of conflict. The result is a devastating erosion of stability.

The disproportionate and devastating impact of climate change on women and girls across Africa is both a moral failing and a strategic blind spot.

The 2024 African Climate Security Risk Assessment, commissioned by the AU Peace and Security Council, presents unequivocal evidence that these compounded threats on stability systematically erode the fundamental rights and dignity of women and girls.

We witness the collapse of fragile health systems triggering alarming declines in maternal mortality and healthcare access. Educational futures are stolen from girls, who are overwhelmingly the first to be withdrawn from school during crises, sacrificing their learning to heightened domestic burdens or security threats. Mass displacement creates perilous environments where sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking, and exploitation proliferate with impunity.

Meanwhile, in rural regions where women constitute the primary agricultural workforce and natural resource managers, climate degradation devastates the very ecosystems that sustain their livelihoods and economic autonomy.

These are not isolated tragedies, but interconnected manifestations of systemic inequality; they represent the daily reality for millions of African women and girls, whose resilience is being tested beyond breaking point.

In response, the African Union Peace and Security Council has decisively reframed climate change not solely as an environmental issue, but as an exacerbating multiplier for which solutions do not lie in securitisation of actions but in a genuine global commitment to address climate adaptation.  

Indeed, the Africa Group engagement in seeking a just climate transition including by scaling up adaptation finance that trickles down to local commitment is a critical contribution to this effort.

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our engagement, as a continent, on these challenges is deliberate, born from a transformative perspective that fundamentally shapes our approach. While we acknowledge the disproportionate impact of these crises on women and girls, our strategy consciously rejects any narrative of victimhood. Instead, we recognize and champion women and girls as Africa's foremost leaders, architects of resilience in their communities and agents of change if we enable them throughout an international engagement that support them. Across our continent, they are already at the forefront designing local adaptation initiatives, mediating conflicts, leading peacebuilding efforts, and mobilizing communities for accountability and justice.

To overlook their voices would be to disregard our most potent resource for resilience; to invest in them is to invest directly in building a more peaceful and prosperous Africa.

The Addis Ababa Declaration, adopted at the 2nd Africa Climate Summit earlier this month, affirms the indispensable role of women as proactive contributors to climate action.

It underscores the importance of recognizing and supporting women’s leadership, moving beyond narratives that portray them solely as vulnerable populations.

The Declaration places gender equality and social inclusion at the heart of integrated efforts to address climate, peace, and security challenges across the continent.

The outcome of this summit advocates for the strengthening of inclusive data systems, gender-responsive early warning mechanisms, and targeted support for women-led initiatives as foundational to building resilient, peaceful, and stable communities.

This collective vision reinforces the imperative of gender justice as a cornerstone of Africa’s climate resilience and its pursuit of a just and inclusive transition.

As we prepare for COP30 in Belém, Africa should also ensure that these messages and the voices of African women are at the center of climate decision-making.

We should simplify and reform climate financing mechanisms to guarantee fair and direct access for grassroots organizations led by African women, offering innovative local solutions that contribute meaningfully to global adaptation and mitigation efforts.

We should prioritize gender-responsive policies that empower women as key agents of resilience and sustainable development in Africa and beyond.

Excellencies,

It is precisely the potential of OAFLAD's leadership to contribute to this effort that make it invaluable. On behalf of the African Union Commission, I extend our deepest appreciation for your visionary championing of this transformative campaign.

Your initiative powerfully complements the African Union's strategic priorities and exemplifies African-led solutions at their finest. This campaign provides exactly the catalyst we need to convert ambition into tangible impact.

Let us depart from this gathering not merely with declarations of intent, but with concrete country-level coalitions, fully-funded project pipelines.

Together, we will translate targets into transformed lives, making resilience not just an aspiration but a living reality for every woman and girl across our beloved continent.

I thank you.