By Mabinty M. Kamara
All is set in Sierra Leone for hosting of the 10th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights (ACSHR). The conference will bring together 900 delegates including activists, celebrities, government officials, academics, and influencers from 41 countries across Africa.
The conference which will start from the 29th of June to the 2nd of July 2022 is hosted by a local partner organization, Purposeful, a feminist hub for girls’ education. According to the organisers, the event to be held in collaboration with the government of Sierra Leone will bring to light the progress made in the country and identify ways to accelerate the elimination of sexual gender-based violence in Africa as a whole.
Speaking at an engagement with the Sierra Leonean press on Friday ahead of the conference, Dr. Uwemedimo Uko, Convener of the ACSHR said that the conference is hosted in Sierra Leone in memory of the many who have fallen victim to sexual abuse and violence such as 5-year-old Khadija Saccoh who lost her life as a result of rape. He said Sierra Leone being a post-conflict country, has a lot of lessons that other African countries can learn from.
He said Sierra Leone’s democracy is thriving and that there is hope in the country. “I think that one of the ways we must celebrate the new Sierra Leone that we have is to do things like this here. I am excited about the embrace, the warm, and all the positive vibes. And you have just heard that people are coming from across 41 countries. We are injecting some resources into this country. And we also want people to remember the likes of Khadija Saccoh who at five, her life was taken away by a predator, and to demand justice for people like that. That is why we are here!” he said, adding that they are not in the country because it is the worst in terms of sexual abuse in Africa.
“But it is a country where we continue to remind ourselves that our development is not about politics but our politics should be about development” Dr. Uko said.
Daily sessions of the conference will be held in different rooms at the Bintumani conference centre in Freetown with the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Fatima Bio being the Chief Patron of the event.
The Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights is part of a long-term process of building and fostering dialogue on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Africa with the aim of advancing universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Information and service for all.
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