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The Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs (MoGCA) has strengthened its efforts to promote gender equality and protect vulnerable groups through a new partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MAFS) under the Food System Resilience Project (FSRP).
The two Ministries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to ensure that gender equality, social inclusion and protection from gender-based violence (GBV) are integrated into interventions designed to strengthen Sierra Leone’s food systems.
Speaking on behalf of MoGCA, the Hon. Minister described the agreement as an important step towards ensuring that national development programmes respond to the different challenges faced by women, children and other vulnerable groups.
She stressed that the partnership goes beyond an administrative agreement, noting that it represents a strategic commitment to making gender equality and safeguarding central to the country’s efforts to build resilient food systems.
Women play a significant role in agriculture, food production, distribution and household nutrition, but often face greater barriers to accessing resources, opportunities and services. The partnership is therefore expected to help address some of these inequalities while strengthening protection against violence and exploitation.
Under the agreement, MoGCA will provide technical support in gender analysis, capacity building, safeguarding and community engagement. The Ministry will also support efforts to strengthen institutional systems for preventing and responding to GBV, Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), and Sexual Harassment (SH).
The partnership further aligns with Sierra Leone’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Act 2022, national gender policy and the country’s international commitments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Maputo Protocol.
It also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 2 on Zero Hunger, SDG 5 on Gender Equality and SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
MoGCA’s involvement is expected to ensure that efforts to strengthen Sierra Leone’s food systems do not only focus on agricultural production and resilience, but also address the safety, inclusion and empowerment of the people at the centre of those systems.
The agreement marks another step by MoGCA towards translating gender policies and protection frameworks into practical action that can improve the lives of women, girls, men and boys across Sierra Leone.
