This activity is themed: "Women commit to accelerating progress in favor of reducing preventable maternal and neonatal deaths for sustainable and equitable development in the DRC." The activity pursues five objectives, namely:

- Organize a high-level political dialogue to accelerate efforts in favor of maternal and neonatal health rights, gender equality, and women's empowerment in the DRC.
- Organize a meeting of women in the community around a village named "Bomoyi ya Muasi," consisting of a package of activities such as information, awareness on women's rights and empowerment, as well as offering maternal and neonatal health services.

- Launch a call to action from women leaders and other stakeholders for more investment in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths, equality, and women's empowerment in the DRC.

- Produce and validate the Kinshasa Declaration to accelerate progress in favor of reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, gender equality, and the empowerment of girls and women in the DRC.

For Mrs. Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, every maternal or neonatal death is a tragedy that could be prevented with a firm commitment to maternal and child health. "If we want things to change, we must mobilize more of our efforts to make the fight against maternal mortality a priority because it is unfair to lose life in giving it. This is a fight for all of us," she declared at the opening of the forum.

This meeting of women, she emphasized, is also an excellent opportunity to highlight the progress made thanks to the presidential initiative for free maternity care and the challenges that must be overcome. "It is with sincere gratitude that I thank all those who made the organization of this forum possible as well as the eminent personalities who were kind enough to participate in these enriching discussions. Together we are a community," she indicated.

During this forum, there will be an opportunity to contribute to the materialization of universal health coverage (UHC) and the operationalization of free maternity and newborn care in order to reduce the maternal mortality rate to less than 140/100,000 live births (twice the global average) by 2030.

Note that this event is organized as part of the commemorative activities of International Women’s Rights Day 2024 and global and regional commitments, including the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the implementation of the action program of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held for the first time in Cairo, Egypt in 1994.

The holding of this forum is an opportunity for the First Lady of the DRC to launch, in line with other First Ladies of Africa, the unifying campaign aimed at achieving gender equality in Africa, under the theme: "We are all equal."

Let us remember that the distinguished First Lady of the Republic, Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, is strongly determined to closely follow the recommendations put forward during this forum. The closing is scheduled for March 28.

GT