‘When Women Rise, Nations Recover’ -Liberian First Lady Champions Resilience for African Women

MONROVIA – As the global community grapples with the existential threat of climate change, a powerful voice is rising from the heart of West Africa – the voice of women, determined to shape the narrative and drive action on this pressing issue. The launch of the OAFLAD #BuildingResilience Campaign in Freetown, Sierra Leone, marks a pivotal moment in this journey, as African women leaders take center stage to demand climate justice, resilience, and empowerment. The presence of Liberia’s First Lady, H.E. Kartumu Yarta Boakai, at the event underscores the growing recognition of women’s critical role in shaping the future of the continent, and their determination to be heard loud and clear by the global powers that be. And she was on target with a powerful statement for women’s role, as The Analyst reports.

The First Lady of Liberia, Kartumu Yarta Boakai, last week joined the National Campaign Launch of the 2025-2027 OAFLAD #BuildingResilience Campaign, held in Freetown, Sierra Leone, at which time she emphasized the urgent need to support African women and girls in the face of climate change and conflict.

In a powerful statement, the Liberian First Lady highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change on women and girls, citing disruptions to maternal health, increased gender-based violence, and limited economic opportunities.

She called for bold investments in resilience, climate justice, and women’s empowerment, stating, “When women rise, nations recover.”

The #BuildingResilience Campaign aims to mobilize political will, financing, and partnerships to support women-led solutions and ensure that resilience is a right, not a privilege, for African women and girls.

She declared further: “I stand with pride beside my sister, the First Lady of Sierra Leone, Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, whose passion has become a clarion call across the continent. Together, we commit to advocating for bold investments in resilience and climate justice, empowering our youth, and building intercontinental bridges that will not collapse under the weight of crisis.”

She recalled that in October of this year, she was unable to address assembly during the campaign launch in New York.

“But today, I stand before you bringing warm greetings from the people of Liberia and from my husband of 53 years, His Excellency President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. —a man who, like your President, understands the cost of peace and the value of partnership,” she said, and added: “Liberia and Sierra Leone are neighbors—and we are twin flames in Africa’s historical struggle for freedom, born of repatriated dreams and united by a legacy of resilience. From the ashes of conflict to the frontlines of climate adaptation, our nations have walked side by side. And today, we stand shoulder to shoulder once more—lifting the daughters of Africa so they may never again be left behind.”

“I stand here as the First Lady of Liberia, but more importantly as a sister among sisters, a daughter of Africa, and a voice for women and girls whose resilience has lit the path through every dark storm we have known.”

 Continuing, the Liberian First Lady asserted: “And speaking of lighting the path, let me pause to say—when it comes to this movement, there are two kinds of First Ladies in Africa: those who bring grace, and those who bring fire. And then… There is Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Her Excellency Dr. Fatima Maada Bio, who brings both—with heels on! My dear sister, you are young, vibrant, and unstoppable. In Liberia, they call me the “oldest” First Lady—but I say this with pride: age brings wisdom, but clearly youth brings Wi-Fi, energy, and no off switch!”

Madam Boakai indicated that the African Climate Security Risk Assessment (2024) reminds the world that women and girls carry the heaviest burdens, for they are the first to rise at dawn to fetch scarce water; the first to leave school when disaster strikes; the first to suffer when systems collapse.”

“Yet, they are also the first to rebuild, the first to heal, the first to lead. So I declare today: Resilience must become a right—not a privilege,” she said, quoting the late Wangari Maathai who once said, ‘The higher you go, the fewer women there are. That is why when you climb, lift as you rise.’

“And so, as First Ladies and as leaders, it is our sacred duty to lift every girl and every woman as we rise in this global fight for justice.”

Speaking further, the Liberian First Lady stressed that, with the campaign, “we are advancing today transcends a policy—it is a movement, a moral awakening. Its theme—Building Resilience for Women and Girls in the Face of Climate Change and Conflict—is both urgent and transformational. It reflects the lived realities of African women and girls, navigating overlapping crises that stretch their strength but never break their spirit.”

 “We are meeting at a moment when climate change and conflict are colliding with devastating force. And this is not theoretical— it is deeply personal, especially for women: It is disrupting maternal and reproductive health; it is escalating gender-based violence; it is displacing families, shuttering schools, and shrinking; women’s economic dreams.”

The campaign launch brought together First Ladies of Africa, government officials, UN leaders, and development partners to reaffirm their commitment to supporting African women and girls.