UN Women and UNICEF Donate 30,000 Washable Masks to Vulnerable Women through the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family

On July 23rd, 2020 in the conference room of the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family, a ceremony was organized to officially donate 30,000 reusable barrier masks. The ceremony was chaired by the Minister of Women Empowerment  and the Family, in the presence of Mr. Jacques Boyer, Representative of Unicef and Mrs. Hind Jalal, Representative of UN Women Cameroon.

This 30 000 reusable masks donation is the outcome of a UNICEF UN Women joint program implemented to reduce the impact of COVID on most vulnerable women and girls.

For Jacques Boyer, UNICEF remained mobilized and committed to support the government of Cameroon to strengthen the resilience of children to face COVID 19 crisis. This is why “the agency, together with UN Women, launched this project, which aims not only to manufacture masks but also to provide economic support to the most vulnerable women"

For Hind JALAL, the Representative of UN Women Cameroon, "Given the negative impact of COVID 19 on the economy, particularly, on the informal sector, a sector where women work the most, UN Women partnered with UNICEF and the Ministry to kick off this project".

Speaking to the Medias, the Minister Mrs Abena Ondoa née Obama Marie Thérèse noted that protecting the most vulnerable women means first and foremost protecting families, the community and the nation as a whole. The project allowed to capacitate women seamstresses and could lead to vocations in mask making. The most vulnerable women are a particular target that we need to support on a daily basis”

Launched on June 5, 2020 and piloted by the association KmerPad, the project aimed not only to support seamstresses recruited in the working class neighborhoods of Yaounde but also to facilitate access to protective masks for the most vulnerable. The distribution of these barrier masks in all women's networks in Cameroon will be ensured by the Ministry, through its various centers for the promotion of women and the family.