Her Excellency Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, First Lady of Sierra Leone and President of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), together with Her Excellency Fatoumatta Bah Barrow, First Lady of The Gambia, have arrived in Accra ahead of a major African First Ladies high-level side event at the 23rd International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA).
The meeting, scheduled for Thursday and hosted by Ghana’s First Lady, H.E. Lordina Dramani Mahama, will focus on ending mother-to-child transmission and achieving the triple elimination of HIV, syphilis, and Hepatitis B across the continent.
The dialogue will emphasise the role of women in leadership in combating stigma, abuse, and neglect—challenges that disproportionately affect women and children—and highlight the need to strengthen protections for vulnerable groups.
Mrs. Mahama and the Lordina Foundation have earned global recognition for over a decade of advocacy in health and humanitarian support. In 2013, she was appointed a Health Ambassador to champion the Heart-to-Heart campaign for HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana.
In 2016, as President of OAFLAD, she delivered a powerful call for a proactive response to HIV and greater protection of sexual and reproductive rights at the 7th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Accra.
First Ladies from Kenya, Liberia, and a former First Lady of South Africa are also expected to attend the high-level gathering.
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