Ghana’s President, John Dramani Mahama, has called on African leaders to prioritise increased funding for gender equality, warning that without sustained financial commitment, the continent’s development ambitions will remain incomplete.

Delivering the keynote address at the High-Level Breakfast Meeting on Financing and Reaffirming Africa’s Gender Commitments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Mahama stressed that gender equality is central to Africa’s economic transformation and long-term prosperity.

He noted that accelerating Agenda 2063 and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals require fully harnessing Africa’s human capital, particularly women, whom he described as the continent’s most underutilised resource.

Despite decades of commitments and declarations, the Ghanaian leader observed that Africa’s gender agenda remains chronically underfunded, with gender-responsive programmes often the first to suffer during periods of fiscal constraint.