Douala, July 19, 2024 (ECA) - “The achievement of sustainable development goals, in particular the fifth on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, depends on the ability of women to seize the opportunity offered by AfCFTA. To this end, the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade will foster a business-friendly environment, enabling women to take their economic destiny into their own hands, and at the same time contribute to the reduction of gender-based violence,” stated Prof Marie-Thérèse Abena Ondoa, Minister of Women empowerment and Family.
The member of the government of the Republic of Cameroon opened the proceedings of the workshop on the theme “Optimizing the potential of the ZLECAf in Central Africa: promoting gender equality and inclusiveness in regional value chains”, held in Douala, Cameroon on July 18-19, 2024, organized by ECA in partnership with UNWOMEN Cameroon, UNDP Africa, the African Trade Policy Centre and the ECCAS Commission. Women, young people, refugees and people with disabilities took part in the event, which rounded off the ZLECAf week in Central Africa.
To make AfCFTA an instrument of structural transformation, 5 major innovative recommendations were made: develop gender-sensitive trade policies to reduce disparities; set up a gender unit within the AfCFTA secretariat to take better account of the needs of women, young people and the vulnerable; create inclusive SEZs that will foster the deployment of SMEs; raise awareness among trade players, including women, young people and the vulnerable, of the opportunities offered by the AfCFTA, as well as the rules of origin and quality standards applicable to the AfCFTA; promote the structuring and networking of all women entrepreneurs' networks and young entrepreneurs' associations in the sub-region.
The 2023 Economic Report on Africa of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) demonstrates that the AfCFTA, by driving the development of regional value chains, particularly in agriculture, will create jobs and significantly reduce poverty. Economists go even further, showing that the impact of the AfCFTA could lift 30 million Africans out of extreme poverty and 65 million out of moderate poverty.
For Jean Luc Mastaki, Director of the ECA's Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa, “satisfactory implementation of the AfCFTA is not possible unless all cross-border trade actors, including women, young people and vulnerable groups, benefit equitably. In this quest for a prosperous and inclusive Central Africa, the development of new-generation special economic zones by promoting inclusiveness and gender equality in regional value chains is a central determinant”.
This orientation is at the heart of the founding principle of the 2030 Agenda: “leave no one behind”. Hence the strong appeal made by Siaka Coulibaly, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Cameroon: “the success of the AfCFTA depends heavily on the inclusion of all groups in society, particularly women, young people and the vulnerable”.
Marie Pierre Raky Chaupin, UNFEMMES Cameroon Resident Representative, extended this appeal in the following terms: “Women have always been pillars of society through their activities, including cross-border trade. The lifting of barriers brought about by the African single market will enable them to strengthen their know-how. For sustainable development, they need to be supported by young people and all segments of society, including people with vulnerabilities”.
The ECA's Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa has documented the data for an inclusive AfCFTA in the region in its report “Intra-regional gender trade in Central Africa: opportunities and challenges for an inclusive AfCFTA”, launched in Douala at the start of the above-mentioned workshop.
Media queries
Zacharie Roger MBARGA - Communications Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
637, rue 3.069, Quartier du Lac, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Tel: +237 222504348
Email: zacharie.mbargayene@un.org