8th Galien Africa Forum 2025: ECOWAS Places Premium on Gender Equality, Healt–Prof Fatou Sow, SARR.
By Raymond Enoch
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has reaffirmed its strong commitment to advancing gender equality and promoting universal access to healthcare across the region. This was underscored by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs, Prof. Fatou Sow Sarr, at the 8th Galien Africa Forum held from 28th to 31st October 2025 at the King Fahd Palace Hotel in Dakar, Senegal.
Speaking during the inaugural panel session titled “Women’s Leadership: Driving Integration for Equal Rights and Universal Access to Health in Africa!” on 30th October 2025, Prof. Sarr highlighted ECOWAS’ proactive initiatives aimed at empowering women and addressing key health challenges. The session was graced by the First Lady of Senegal, Mrs. Absa Faye, among other high-level dignitaries, scientists, and innovators.
Prof. Sarr outlined the Commission’s major programmes, including the Regional Fistula Programme and the innovative sanitary towel and nappy production initiative, which she described as a transformative step toward addressing women’s health and economic empowerment. According to her, the initiative not only provides a sustainable solution to the sexual and reproductive health needs of women and girls but also creates new opportunities for female entrepreneurship and local industrial participation in the sanitary products market.
“The sanitary towel manufacturing project embodies the spirit of innovation and inclusion. It tackles a pressing health issue while offering pathways for women’s economic independence,” she stated, emphasizing ECOWAS’ broader vision for a healthier, more equitable West Africa.
Prof. Sarr further stressed the importance of investing in scientific research and innovation as catalysts for transforming Africa’s health systems and improving the living conditions of women across the continent.
The Galien Africa Forum—an influential platform for dialogue on research, innovation, and technological health—brought together leading scientists, policymakers, civil society actors, Nobel laureates, and young innovators. The forum provided fertile ground for strategic thinking on how inclusive female leadership can drive sustainable development across Africa.
Through such engagements, ECOWAS continues to demonstrate its unwavering resolve to champion gender equality, health innovation, and socio-economic empowerment, recognizing these as integral pillars of regional growth and human development.
