“Ebola – What next?”: UN Women Executive Director to visit Ghana and take part in BBC live debate
Date:
On her first official visit to Ghana as the Executive Director of UN Women from 24-26 March, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will meet with President H.E. John Dramani Mahama and the Minister of Gender, Children & Social Protection, Honourable Nana Oye Lithur, to discuss the strengthening of collaboration around the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The discussions will also reflect upon Ghana’s implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action in the 20 years since its signing and the sustainable development goals and the post-2015 development agenda, set to replace the Millennium Development Goals.
The visit comes on the heels of Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka’s mission to Sierra Leone from 22-24 March, undertaken to help focus the world’s attention on the need for both international, regional and national responses to specifically address the impact of the Ebola virus on women and girls, and to highlight the fact that the very roles that put women in more vulnerable positions also enable them to play a key role in responding to the disease.
While in Ghana, the UN Women Executive Director will also participate in a special BBC World Debate on the Ebola crisis and response, entitled “Ebola – What next? Who runs a country when it’s in crisis?” Set to be recorded for both television and radio, the debate will take place at the University of Ghana before a live audience of 150 people, who will be invited to ask questions. They will examine what is needed next in the fight against Ebola, look at crisis response in general and assess how individual countries, the international community and sectors such as the private sector respond.
In addition to UN Women’s Executive Director, panelists will include: Liberian activist and Nobel Prize winner Leymah Gbowee, Guinea’s Minister for International Cooperation Koutoub Moustapha Sano, former head of Africa’s largest independent regional banking group (Ecobank) Arnold Ekpe, and Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland.
BBC World Service Radio will air the debate at 3 a.m., 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. GMT on Friday 27 March, while BBC World TV News will broadcast it on Saturday 4 April at 4.10 a.m., 5.10 p.m. and 11.10 p.m. GMT, as well as on Sunday 5 April at 10:10 a.m. GMT.
During the remainder of her time in Ghana, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka will also meet with senior women leaders drawn from Ghanaian civil society and the private sector and will hold consultations with the leadership of the United Nations agencies, funds and programmes operating in Ghana, under the leadership of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Christine Evans-Klock, and Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER).
Related news:
UN Women action to confront the Ebola crisis