In corporate forums on cross-sector collaboration, companies often express frustrations about not being able to have open dialogues with government representatives, earlier in the planning process, to share their knowledge and explore together how best to build programs that strategically allocate resources for maximum impact.  Governments too are both interested and skeptical about how and when to best partner and engage with private sector organizations.

An upcoming high-level partnership meeting – hosted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Bank, GBCHealth, and the governments of Mali, Mauritania, Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire – will bring together a small group of the private sector leaders and other development partners to strengthen the dialogue and align programs that can help translate Africa’s demographic change into a positive force for economic and social development.

Registration is currently open for this two-day forum that will enable participating organizations to identify and explore innovative partnership models together, resulting in stronger, more holistic collaboration and planning at the national and regional levels on issues of women’s empowerment and the demographic dividend.  Corporate participants will have the unique opportunity to sit down with ministers and other government representatives, as well as UNFPA.

Since 2017, GBCHealth and UNFPA have partnered to encourage smart investments in health, empowerment, education and employment to reduce vulnerability and support young people to reach their full potential. Specifically, the collaboration aims to support the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) project, a regional initiative supported financially and technically by the World Bank, UNFPA, and the West Africa Health Organization.

Launched in 2015, SWEDD’s overall objective is to empower women and adolescent girls, and improve their access to quality maternal and child health and family planning services. It also works to reduce gender inequality and violence in the Sahel. The SWEDD project has three main components:

• Generate demand for reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child health, and nutrition (RMNCHN) services and products by promoting social and behavioral change and the empowerment of women and adolescent girls,
• Strengthen the regional availability of RMNCHN commodities and qualified health workers; and
• Strengthen advocacy and dialogue at high levels and promote policy development and the project’s implementation.

The SWEDD project has shown encouraging results over the last three years.  Effectively scaling up and extending the project requires strengthening the investments through partnerships with the private sector and financial partners.

Incorporating private sector perspectives and aligning programs is a critical part of this dialogue. Your organization can join the conversation and lend its voice at this early and important stage.

Event details:

December 17-18, 2018
Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire
Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Seating is limited. To attend this event, please email Rebecca Fishman at .