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Advancing Care Economies and Systems in West and Central Africa – Launch of West and Central Africa Country Care Snapshots
The UN Women Regional Office for West and Central Africa is pleased to invite you to a high‑level regional dialogue entitled on advancing care economies and systems in West and Central Africa through evidence‑based policies. This event will mark the official launch of the UN Women West and Central Africa Care Snapshots, a collection of data and analysis on care systems — both paid and unpaid — across 10 countries in the region. The Care Snapshots map care needs and trends, identify gaps in services and public policies, and provide practical recommendations to support the development of sustainable care policies, services, infrastructure, and solutions. The dialogue will bring together policymakers, development partners, civil society organizations, and researchers to explore how evidence‑based data can be leveraged to advance the care agenda at national and local levels.
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Start date: 04 June 2026 | Start time: 11:00 UTC +00:00
End date: 04 June 2026 | End time: 13:00 UTC +00:00
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Event description
Care work, both paid and unpaid, is essential for vibrant and sustainable economies and societies. However, across the world, it remains undervalued and unequally distributed. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Women spend on average 3.1 times more hours on unpaid care and domestic work than men including fetching water, collecting firewood, doing laundry, preparing food, and caring for children, sick, older persons, and people with disability. This limits women’s opportunities to participate fully in the economy and affects their livelihoods, businesses, and career prospects, while slowing inclusive growth across the region.
Additionally, the paid care sector—largely dominated by women—is often characterized by low wages and poor working conditions, further deepening economic insecurity and gender inequalities.
To help inform policymaking to transform care systems and invest in care solutions, the UN Women Regional Office for West and Central Africa has launched the Care Snapshots. These country‑level assessments provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the care economy (both unpaid and care) and care systems in ten selected countries: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo. Each Snapshot highlights existing policies and reforms, identifies gaps, and makes the case for investing in care systems as a driver of women’s economic empowerment and sustainable development.
The Care Snapshots offer practical, action‑oriented recommendations for governments, civil society, researchers, and development partners. They are designed to guide policymaking and inspire innovative solutions that recognize, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care work, promote women’s entrepreneurship in paid sector and ensure that women’s time, skills, and contributions are valued as essential to resilient economies and societies.