By Caleb Kuleke
Ho, Mar. 9, GNA – Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister says Government is committed to the tenets of Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women as a step towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5, by 2030.
He said the National Gender Policy, the National Social Protection Policy and various programmes implemented by government provided the blueprint towards addressing issues of gender equality and women empowerment at all levels.
The Minister said central to the implementation of these policies and programmes was the use of digital technology and innovation to bridge the existing gender gaps and that there was no better time than now.
Dr Letsa was speaking at a programme to mark this year’s International Women’s Day celebration- Tech Forum and Fair in Ho, which is on the theme: “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality” and the campaign message #EmbraceEquity.
The Minister noted that bridging the gender gap in technology had a great potential to help address many of the challenges that impeded growth and development of the country.
He said the Government recognised the potential within the digital space and has demonstrated enough commitment towards harnessing these potentials to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The Minister said to fulfil this commitment the Government has increased resource allocations to complement education in the form of online televised teaching platforms.
“The launching STEM, resourcing of ICT labs across various public schools and introducing ICT into the school curriculums are some of the practical initiatives with the potential of giving women and girls the opportunity in the digital space.”
He said Government digitalisation of the health insurance and other service provisions which were aimed at promoting the health and well-being of citizens was another important step toward addressing issues of maternal health and maternal mortality.
The Minister said the Day gave opportunity to the world to celebrate the significant social, economic, cultural, and political contribution of women for societal development.
The Regional Minister commended women for their diverse contributions, voices, and efforts which he said had undoubtedly contributed immensely to the growth and development of the Volta Region and the Country as a whole.
Mrs Thywill Eyra Kpe, Volta Regional Director, Department of Gender, said the Day was not only celebrated to recognise the economic, political, and social achievements of women, but also to draw the world’s attention to areas requiring further action, and the need to accelerate gender equality.
She said the theme was in recognition of the fact that gender inequality within communities, institutions and organisations created serious barriers for women and girls to fully develop themselves, most especially in the technological space
The Director said Gender Equality was not a mare cliché but a tool that had the potential to unearth and harness the human resource potentials for sustainable development.
Mrs Kpe said it was therefore important to recognise the tenets of Gender equality, which was to ensure equal roles, responsibilities, rights, enjoyment of socially valued goods and equal access to productive resources by all.
GNA