At the Women in Energy conference held on Monday 15 February 2016 (Sandton Convention Centre) Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi (Special Envoy on Gender, African Development Bank) delivered the first keynote address. She said that the Women in Energy conference has coincided with a challenging time for the energy sector in Africa.
Distinguished keynote speakers at the Women in Energy Conference: H.E. Dr. Elham Mahmood Ahmed Ibrahim, Commissioner, Infrastructure and Energy: African Union Commission; Deputy Minister, Department of Energy, South Africa; Thembisile Majola, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Special Envoy on Gender, African Development Bank.
She said that Africa remains in the dark and that over 645 million Africans do not have access to energy. Seven hundred million people go without access to clean cooking energy on the African continent with 600 000 Africans (majority – women and children) dying each year from indoor pollution because they rely on biomass for cooking. The burden of this lack of energy, when it comes to time spent, ill health and opportunities foregone, is borne overwhelmingly by women and children. The lack of energy for lighting, cooking and heating, results in women and girls, across the continent, spending upward of five hours a day collecting firewood and being kept away from education... women and girls who should be part of the skilled workforce of the present and future.
Very good news is that the African Development Bank is committed, as part of its new deal for energy, to deliver 130 billion new on grid and 75 billion new off grid connections by 2025. This will have a substantial impact on the lives of the vulnerable. Read more in ‘A sense of Africa’... Electricity+Control, March 2016.
