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Djibouti , November 16, 2006

Kenya's First Lady Lucy Kibaki and other First Ladies follow proceedings at the closing session of COMESA Heads of State and Government summit in Djibouti.

COMESA First ladies call for more support

First Lady Lucy Kibaki today joined other COMESA First Ladies in urging COMESA member states to provide resources to enable them lead national campaigns on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), HIV/AIDS and education.

The First Ladies called on COMESA to put in place a regional strategy to enhance girl-child education and eliminate obstacles that prevent girls from accessing education.

Their resolutions were contained in a communiqué read by the First Lady of Sudan, Madame Widad Babiker, at the close of the 3rd Round Table of COMESA First Ladies held alongside the 11th COMESA Heads of State and Government summit in Djibouti.

The First Ladies' communiqué also urged member states to enact national laws against Female Genital Mutilation for countries where such laws do not exist.

The First Ladies further called on COMESA member states to put in place strategies and resources to eliminate FGM in line with the legal instruments of the African Union promoting women rights and children's rights.

They requested COMESA in collaboration with PTA Bank and cooperating partners to create a special fund for income generating activities for women affected by HIV/AIDS and those looking after orphans.

The First Ladies also appealed to COMESA member states to implement the African Union policies on universal access to prevention, treatment and care for people affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

They urged COMESA to put in place necessary facilities to ensure the timely launching of trading houses for women in business in the region, adding that a special fund should be established to facilitate access to credit by women entrepreneurs.

The First Ladies also asked member states to adopt and implement the African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender Parity regarding the 50 percent participation of women at all levels of decision-making.

They requested the COMESA secretariat to develop gender disaggregates database on issues affecting women and disseminate the information annually to First Ladies and other stakeholders to update them on what is happening in the region.