As part of the Generation Equality Commitment Makers Capacity Building Series, UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa hosted its inaugural session to equip Generation Equality stakeholders with critical tools for advocacy and programming.

Algiers, 19 May 2025 — On the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Annual Group Meeting, the UN Women Regional Office for West and Central Africa and the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement aims to advance strategic initiatives that strengthen women’s empowerment and participation in agrifood systems and food security across OIC Member States in West and Central Africa. The collaboration will promote gender equality and resilience through the development of national and regional programs focused on climate-smart agriculture and inclusive agrifood value chains, implemented in close partnership with regional governments.

Kenya joined the global community on 24th April, 2025 in marking Girls in ICT Day under the theme, “Girls in ICT for Inclusive Digital Transformation.” Through a webinar organized under the Digital Platforms Kenya (DigiKen) programme (which is funded by the Joint SDG Fund) and led by UN Women in collaboration with Pwani Technogalz and the Northern Innovation and Empowerment Hub (NieHub), the virtual session served as both a celebration and a call to action. The forum aimed to bridge the gender digital divide and empower girls and young women to take the lead in an increasingly digital world

As part of efforts to advance inclusive digital transformation in Kenya, Digiken partners comprising the UN Women, UNESCO, UNCDF, and UNEP visited the Green and Digital Innovation Hub (gDIH) at Konza Technopolis, hosted by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS).

The United Nation Office in Nairobi (UNON) hosted a Women Leaders Network event in celebration of International Women’s Day on 18th March 2025, aligning with this year's theme: “For All Women and Girls; Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” The event brought together network members, comprising women leaders from the United Nations agencies, for structured networking and knowledge-sharing sessions on navigating workplace challenges and managing career growth.

Uhuru Park in Nairobi came alive with vibrant dialogue, civic engagement, and bold conversations during the 7th edition of the People Dialogue Festival (PDF) — a flagship initiative of the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD-Kenya). Under the theme “Building a Collaborative Democracy for Kenya’s Sustainable Future,” this year’s edition brought together a diverse range of stakeholders from government, civil society, private sector, and the public to co-create inclusive solutions for Kenya’s development.

The Nyanza International Investment Conference, held from 6th to 8th February 2025 in Kisumu, provided a platform for advancing women’s economic empowerment through private sector engagement.

To mark International Women's Day 2025, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Global Compact Network Kenya, and UN Women, joined over 100 stock exchanges worldwide to “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality.” This annual global initiative urges the private sector to accelerate gender equality by adopting and implementing the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) across industries, organizations, and markets.

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day dedicated to celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and girls, while also calling for renewed action to advance gender equality. First declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1975, IWD has since become a pivotal moment to both honor progress and spotlight the work still ahead.

As Kenya continues to confront rising cases of gender-based violence (GBV), including alarming rates of femicide, the National Gender-based Violence Working Group stepped up its efforts to drive national action. Coordinated by the National Gender and Equality Commission, this multi-stakeholder platform brings together government institutions, civil society organizations, and development partners to strengthen the country’s collective response to GBV.

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a widespread human rights violation, significantly impacting women and girls across Africa. Despite legislative efforts, deeply rooted patriarchal norms and unequal power structures continue to perpetuate violence, discrimination, and systemic gender inequalities. GBV manifests in many forms, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, and economic disempowerment, limiting the full participation of women and girls in society.

Rwanda marked International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 under the global theme “For All Women and Girls: Equality, Rights, and Empowerment” and the national theme “Empower Her: Shape the Future Generation” translated in Kinyarwanda “Umugore ni Uw’Agaciro.” UN Women Rwanda played a central role in leading advocacy and collaborating with key partners to amplify the message of women’s empowerment, equality, and inclusion across a series of impactful events.

On 6th May 2025, UN Women Liberia officially launched the 2025–2026 Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) at the United Nations One House in Monrovia. The event, attended by the Honourable Gbeme Horace-Kollie, Liberia’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection and UN Women Liberia Country Representative, Comfort Lamptey and Deputy Director of Civil Society Engagement from UN women HQ, alongside members of the newly appointed CSAG and UN Women Liberia Staff. The re-establishment of CSAG reaffirms UN Women’s commitment to inclusive dialogue and co-creation with civil society, particularly women’s rights organizations, youth groups, and community leaders.

The UN-Women Executive Board will undertake a field visit to Zimbabwe from 4-10 May 2025, as part of its oversight and engagement efforts to assess and understand the impact of UN-Women’s operations in advancing national development priorities and addressing women’s challenges in the region.

As part of the 11th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11), UN Women, in partnership with the Office of the Prime Minister of Uganda, hosted a High-Level Women Leaders’ Strategic Forum. The gathering brought together influential women leaders from across East and Southern Africa to explore opportunities that can accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment in the region. The session created a powerful platform to spotlight the pivotal role of women’s leadership in advancing Africa’s development agenda.

In a powerful parallel session during the 11th Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11), UN Women, alongside key stakeholders from governments, civil society, the private sector, and youth organizations, convened to reaffirm and reimagine commitments to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5): Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

During the 11th session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD-11), UN Women hosted the Gender Forum bringing together key stakeholders to spotlight Africa’s progress on gender equality, identify enduring gaps, and foster collaboration for accelerated action. Grounded in the aspirations of SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the forum served as a platform for dialogue, innovation, and shared commitment to an inclusive and sustainable future.

Lucia Masunga Mwanzalima from Zanzibar is using technology to bridge gaps in rural agriculture and inspire young women to join the digital world.

SASA! which also means NOW in Kiswahili, is an innovative and tested community mobilization approach developed by Raising Voices in Kampala, Uganda that mobilizes communities for a change in social norms by addressing the root causes of power imbalance between women and men to prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG) and HIV/AIDS. UN Women Ethiopia country office, through its Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Programme has been supporting the implementation of SASA! Faith and SASA! Community since 2018/19 in selected districts of Adama, Oromia and Debre Birhan, Amhara regions. The program has been supported by the Governments of Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

The Mentorship and Coaching of Women Entrepreneurs programme supports women entrepreneurs to build viable businesses, access procurement opportunities, and break systemic economic barriers. The programme has already benefited 300 women across six rural and peri-urban communities in the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and North West provinces of South Africa.