KIGALI - The Chief of Africa Division of the newly created entity, United Nations – Women (UN-Women), Letty Chiwara, has appealed to all partners to help in re-visioning and rethinking of the entity in order for it to deliver to expectations.

Chiwara made the call yesterday, during a cocktail organized by the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion in her honor.

She is in the country to attend the international conference on the ‘Role of Security Organs in Ending Violence against Women and Girls’ which starts today.

"We are currently in a transitional phase and we are now working on the organizational structure of UN-Women which is based on looking on the functions and analysis on how we will cooperate as an organization. We want to advocate that there will be stronger focus at the country level.” Chiwara said.

"This is still a challenge for us because we still have to deliver the results we have set ourselves to deliver, and we have to strategize and strategically position ourselves as UN-Women in Africa. We are calling upon all UN colleagues, governments, private sector among others to help us in that process of rethinking and re-visioning our presence moving forward,” she said.

UN-Women brings together four UN agencies ; the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Division of the Advancement of Women, Office of Special Advisor for Gender Issues (OSAGI) and the Institute on Research on Women. The new entity is scheduled to be fully operational effective next year.

Diana Ofwona Mukama, the UN-Women Regional Coordinator, said that together with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, they are yet to launch the institutionalization of a programme which will focus on strengthening gender economic management.

"We want to strengthen coordination in gender equality of women’s empowerment,” Mukama said. Present was the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya and the UN Resident Coordinator, Aurelien Agbenonci, among others.

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