Lighting The Fire

‘Women and female children in Africa play a pivotal role in the health of the environment,’ says Cora Neumann, director of RAND’s African First Ladies Initiative, ‘but they are often unaware of some of the basics of environmental health. For example, their work includes fetching water from either a stream or river, or a well if there is one, as well as disposing of waste. Bathing and washing of clothing and pots and pans often use the same water source. Pollution of the limited water available is a growing problem: human wastes, medical waste and much more all end up in the local rivers or water bodies. Cleaning compounds is also women’s work, and soil contamination and pollution is an issue. Preventable diseases are a serious problem in the communities with whom we work.’

Then there’s air pollution. Around the world, according to the World Health Organization, more than 1.6 million premature deaths a year are due to indoor air pollution, largely the result of burning wood, charcoal and other biomass for cooking. ‘In Sierra Leone, with the support and help of First Lady, Sia Nyama Koroma, the initiative is working to introduce a new wonder stove designed at the local Njala University,’ says Cora. ‘These stoves are smokeless and use much less fuel. They are now being made from local clays with a tin outer stand and distributed all over the country. Not only do they reduce air pollution, they save trees as they are more efficient and reduce the time women and children spend gathering fuel.’

Lightening women’s workload and saving their time increases the likelihood that girl children get to school, and women can spend more time on income-generating tasks, farming and adult education. That’s particularly important on a continent where 60 per cent of the children unable to attend school are girls, some 40 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

‘First Ladies are well placed to lead the charge to improve the status of women and to bring about significant change,’ continues Cora. ‘We work to build on the First Ladies’ commitment by fostering and coordinating partnerships between them, their offices and leading international development organizations such as CARE International and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, as well as with our implementing partner based at the Public Health Institute. Together they build specific programmes that make a real difference, particularly to women and girl-children, to improve health, education and economic empowerment.

‘The initiative,’ concludes Cora, ‘is about empowering First Ladies to mobilize their potential as champions of improved health and development. Since 2008, we have engaged with First Ladies from 17 nations – from Burkina Faso to Zambia and Nigeria to Mozambique. Their dedication to improving the health, education and prospects of African women is inspirational.’