On Monday, Dr. Jill Biden (pictured) arrived in Zambia as part of her three-nation tour of Africa to promote girl’s education as well as underscore the necessity of women’s involvement throughout government, the economy, and civil society.
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Officially announcing the trip mid-June, Dr. Biden, who is the wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, arrived in Zambia with Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Catherine Russell, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues.
On Wednesday, Dr. Biden met with Second Lady Dr. Charlotte Harland Scott and government officials to discuss the top issues that affect Zambian women, such as education, gender-based violence, and economic empowerment. They also discussed current solutions officials are taking to facilitate female empowerment.
From the White House press pool report:
Wednesday, July 2 was full of activities around Lusaka as Dr. Biden
and her delegation met with Zambian’s second lady, Charlotte Scott;
Zambian Minister of Gender and Child Development Inonge Wina, Minister
of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs, Professor Nkandu Luo, and Minister
of Community Development, Mother and Child Health Emerine Kabanshi at
Government house.They discussed matters relating to women’s and girls’ leadership,
education, and empowerment.Zambia is one of the countries in the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) with fewer women in decision making positions while
many women and girls lack empowerment in education and other sectors.
In order to bring light to the services that have been created for adult and child survivors of gender-based violence through the effective collaboration among the Zambian and U.S. governments and local organizations, Dr. Biden will also visit a health facility.
Following Zambia, Dr. Biden will be visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.
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