09/09/2026
🎀 A Historic Step Forward for Africa’s Care Agenda! 🎀
The inaugural Africa Care Forum, held in Addis Ababa from 2–4 September 2026, marked a milestone in efforts to transform and reimagine care across Africa. Convened by the African Union Commission through its Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (WGYD), the Forum brought together policymakers, women’s rights organizations, caregivers and care workers, researchers, development partners and other stakeholders to advance African-led solutions for transforming care systems. At the heart of the Forum was a powerful recognition: care is a public good, a human right and a foundation for just, inclusive and sustainable societies. Discussions highlighted the disproportionate burden of unpaid and paid care work carried by women and girls across Africa. A key milestone preceding the Forum was the validation of the Common Africa Position (CAP) on Care Work by Gender Experts of the AU Specialized Technical Committee on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (STC-GEWE). The CAP reflects years of engagement and advances an African vision for transforming care systems.For ActionAid, the Forum represented years of feminist advocacy, movement building, evidence generation and collective action to place care on Africa’s policy agenda. Through its Women’s Rights and Feminist Alternatives (WRFA) Team, ActionAid has contributed to advancing a continental care programme. Together with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), ActionAid International initiated and convenes the Africa Community of Practice on Care, a platform that amplifies African voices, strengthens learning and solidarity, and builds collective action for transformative care systems. This engagement has contributed to the Common Africa Position and momentum for the Forum. The Forum also provided an advocacy platform for ActionAid. Hellen Grace Akwii Wangusa, Chair of the ActionAid International Board, participated in a high-level AU ministerial panel on “Care-centred Policies for Africa’s Economic Transformation: Moving Policy to Practice,” highlighting the links between gender justice, care and inclusive economic transformation. ActionAid Ethiopia was proud to participate alongside the ActionAid Rwanda and AAE WRFA teams, and the wider ActionAid movement advancing gender justice and feminist alternatives. Looking ahead, a key priority is to strengthen national Communities of Practice on Care and establish National Care Forums, translating continental commitments into national policy, financing and action. The Africa Care Forum has strengthened a growing continental movement to ensure that care is recognized, valued, redistributed and properly supported through public policy and investment. ActionAid remains committed to feminist and African-led solutions that place care at the centre of gender justice, economic transformation, inclusive development and a more just future for all! Follow us on LinkedIn for more...
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