The Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) 2025 closed on a high as speakers and delegates wrapped up the three-day convening with an energetic display of commitment to drive change.
In what proved to be the climax of the conference, the fifth and final plenary brought together inspiring women–and male allies–to unpack gender equality through an African lens and foster connections through powerful storytelling. The unexpected highlight of the session was, undoubtedly, Vedastina Shumbusho, a Community Health Worker from rural Tanzania who had the audience both inspired and laughing with her witty takes on gender equality–reminder that the battle for equity must be taken to the grassroots if it is to open up opportunities for all.
“A woman will work hard on the farm all day and when she gets to the house, she will find that she’s run out of water to cook and bathe her children. So she will go to the river to fetch water and return to continue her chores, while the man will come back from work, rest, and expect to find his dinner ready. When do the women rest?”
It was a straightforward question that had the audience in stitches, yet it carried the weight of decades of dialogue on the inequitable division of labour, lack of autonomy and the heavy burden of unpaid work shouldered by millions of girls and women around the world.
| This dismantling of barriers that hinder progress cannot be confined to the boardroom. It must reach all of us and will take collective commitment from stakeholders at every level to challenge the status quo, build allyship and reconstruct the culture that informs it. “Culture changes. Culture is something that we create and can recreate to serve us.” Ebere Okereke, Chief Program Officer, Reaching the Last Mile Foundation. From conversations with Vedastina to an illuminating couch conversation and a stimulating panel, the message was clear: change will only come if we act. The line-up of speakers, which included Hon. Samsam Mohamed Salah, Vice Minister of Health from the Republic of Somaliland; Dorothy Nyong’o, Managing Trustee, Africa Cancer Foundation; Dr. Mary-Ann Etiebet, President & CEO, Vital Strategies; Prof. Flavia Senkubuge, Deputy Dean of Stakeholders, University of Pretoria; Dr. Eleleta Surafel, Chapter Lead -Ethiopia, Women in Global Health; Namulanta Kombo, Creator and Presenter, Dear Daughter Podcast, and Zachée Iyakaremye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Rwanda, all acknowledged the importance of African unity and collaboration in addressing the root causes of patriarchy, gender inequality and health inequity. |
| “There are women who are more educated than men. There are women who are stronger and smarter than men. We’d like men to acknowledge that we matter. That they are not superior, and we are not inferior. We want them to see us as equals.” Hon. Samsam Mohamed Salah, Vice Minister of Health from the Republic of Somaliland It wouldn’t be AHAIC without a celebration of International Women’s Day, and this year’s winners represented the depth and breadth of innovation, care and commitment to action within our communities that must be celebrated. |
