Women's leadership

On February 11, we marked International Day of Women and Girls in Science by celebrating the members of our CAMFED Association who are breaking boundaries to become qualified healthcare professionals in their communities across Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Hear from some of the young women who are graduating from secondary school to become respected role models and advocates for health equality and girls’ education.

Soledad O’Brien, CEO; Journalist; Producer; and Philanthropist sits down with Angeline Murimirwa, Executive Director – Africa, CAMFED (2021 Prize Laureate) at the 2022 Hilton Humanitarian Symposium and Prize Ceremony themed “The Power of Perseverance,” in Beverly Hills, California. Angeline talks about how that power is embodied by the CAMFED Association of women leaders – who face challenges like COVID-19 and climate change head on, to keep girls safe and learning. 

On November 13th, CAMFED Tanzania met with 31 members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Social Welfare and Community Development.

At the meeting, former Learner Guides Diris Martin and Stumai Kaguna, who now train others, joined Lydia Wilbard, National Director of CAMFED Tanzania.

Together, they spoke about the program and the changes in their own lives and those of the children Learner Guides support. 

Girls’ education champion and former First Lady Michelle Obama marked International Day of the Girl with the launch of a new Global Girls Alliance, and welcomed our young women leaders in the CAMFED Association.  Mrs Obama and CAMFED Association leaders – who are powerful and passionate girls’ education activists working across rural sub-Saharan Africa – have long partnered around the belief that champions at the grassroots are best positioned to make girls’ education a reality for the poorest girls.

On International Women’s Day, Angeline Murimirwa, CAMFED Executive Director – Africa, joined an inspirational panel chaired by Anne McElvoy, Senior Editor of The Economist, with HRH The Duchess of Sussex (in her new role as Vice-President of The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust),  CAMFED Patron the Hon Julia Gillard AC, singer-songwriter and global activist Annie Lennox OBE, model and activist Adwoa Aboah, and Chrisann Jarret. They discussed the hurdles that remain for women and girls globally, and called on the audience to act now for gender equality. 

Once they were among the most marginalized girls in their rural villages, denied their right to an education through unrelenting intergenerational poverty.

Last week, they shared their stories of transformation through education. They joined hands with Graça Machel, and with CAMFED’s new patron, Julia Gillard, during strategic meetings designed to change the prospects for communities across sub-Saharan Africa.

Now the members of the CAMFED Association (CAMA) – young women leaders educated with CAMFED support – are rewriting the future of generations to come.

Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to roll back decades of progress, REAL Centre research into effective education interventions is more important than ever to inform collective, evidence-led action.

One such paper, an in-depth cost-effectiveness analysis of CAMFED’s program in Tanzania, was published today in the Journal of Development Effectiveness. It suggests that education initiatives that focus on the particular needs of the most marginalized should become a priority for international aid, because research data shows that they benefit all children.

Hear directly from our African leaders as we tackle the learning crisis exacerbated by COVID-19. A year after the declaration of the pandemic, the young women in our movement continue to work tirelessly to identify girls in their communities at risk of exclusion from education. Together we are helping vulnerable children to learn, thrive and lead – offering social and financial support, bridging the digital divide, and joining forces with parents and officials to tackle poverty, gender inequity, child marriage, youth unemployment and climate change. 

The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) has launched a new report and policy note on ‘Transformative political leadership to promote 12 years of quality education for all girls.’ Prepared by the Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre at the University of Cambridge, the paper addresses the urgent need to identify ways in which high-level political leadership can be mobilized to generate concrete action for girls’ education, and includes data from CAMFED’s program.

From July 10th-15th in Johannesburg South Africa, the Obama Foundation’s Leaders: Africa program brought together 200 emerging leaders from 45 countries across the continent, exploring new ways to take on the biggest challenges in their communities. Angeline Murimirwa, CAMFED Executive Director - Africa, joined a discussion on leadership with Tsehaitu "Tubi" Retta, Deputy Director of the Obama Foundation, exploring how all of us benefit when girls receive access to quality education.