I was born in Diourbel on 2 July 1973. I went to the Franco de Mouride primary school in Diourbel. After passing the sixth grade entry diploma, I went to secondary school in the same town at the Diourbel CEM until third grade where I obtained my BFEM in 1997. I am an activist for a better involvement of women living with HIV in decision-making bodies, a founding member of the ABOYA association in 2001, I was Secretary General from 2003 to 2010, and President of the organisation from 2011 to the present day.

Member of the Steering Committee of the National Network of Associations of People Living with HIV (RNP+), this position allowed me to be a member of an international organisation of women living with HIV (ICW West Africa) West Africa branch and since 2016, I have been the Chair of the Board of Directors of the same organisation. I am also an advisor to the National AIDS Council (NAC) and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance of Communities for Health (ANCS).

In 2022, I graduated from the 2nd class of CARTOLOCS trained by Enda/Santé on mapping and estimating the size of key populations.

Nogaye SOW was born in 1960 in Thienaba in the Thiès region, she ended her studies when she left the Serigne Ibrahima Seck primary school in Thienaba. Responsible for communication for the AISM in Thienaba, President of the jaapoo fadjo health mutual in Thienaba, President of the Badiane Gokh in the Khombol district since 1999, General Secretary Thienaba GIE FASS DIOM. In 2016 she was named best Badiane Gokh in the Thiès region.

Laëticia Providence BANKO, born on 25 April 1977 in Sébikotane in the Thiès region, has been a community development worker with the Association Benno Japalanté (ABJ) in Grand Dakar since then. For the past 6 years, she has been the President of the Women's Committee of the said association.

AMFE is committed to promoting the schooling and retention of girls in a quality education system in a safe environment by addressing the social conditions that impede the progress of women in the Matam region and in Senegal as a whole:

• Eradicating forms of gender-based violence (female genital mutilation, sexual assault, child marriage, early pregnancy and domestic violence),
• promoting sexual and reproductive health education and access to care,
• facilitating access to justice for girls and women,
• facilitating vocational training and capacity building for girls and women.
• education of communities to contribute to the well-being of girls and women.
  

I am a young woman who has been working in the field of public health and humanitarian aid for more than 10 years; concerned about the future of youth and especially women, I had the honour in 2011 to join the Association des jeunes pour le Développement (AJD/Pasteef) as an assistant programme officer. Right from the start, this position allowed me to pilot several programmes to combat violence against women and young people. Living in a patriarchal society where men are considered superior to women, we have seen multiple acts of violence against women for centuries. This is why I decided to participate in the raising of awareness among my sisters and brothers to change this silence.

Quote:
"To take part in the fight against female genital mutilation it is important to involve future parents, namely young people".
"Participating in the emancipation of women and girls is the duty of every citizen".

In the same vein, I am currently the Executive Secretary of the Association Sénégalaise pour l'Avenir de la Femme et de l'Enfant (ASAFE), created in 1997 and legally recognised in 2002. I hold a Higher Diploma in Social Work, with an option in Social Services Management, a Master II in Finance and Public Management, a Master 2 in Citizenship, Human Rights and Humanitarian Action and a State Diploma in Social Work, specialising in supervised education.

I am passionate about early childhood and my struggle is to see meaningful representation of young people in decision-making bodies. To this end, I was recently elected deputy mayor of the city of Guédiawaye.

Born in Thiès, Fatou Badiane is a development worker who has been working in community health since 1983 and has been acting in community dynamics since 2009. President of the Badienou Gox in the Thiès region, she was named the best Badienou Gox of the Thiès health district and the 2nd best Badienou Gox of the Thiès region.

Maguette DIOP, Health Mediator and facilitator of prevention activities and Enda Santé’s mobile clinic since 2008, was the initiator of an association of sex workers in Pikine in 2015. In the same year, she participated in and facilitated the Study on the influence of perceptions and attitude towards risk on the demand for prevention of HIV/AIDS and STDs among female sex workers in Senegal. Maguette is the President of the CBO Femmes de diamant which has been active since 2019.

President of JGEN Senegal (Women Global Entrepreneurship), Maimouna Astou YADE is a young Senegalese feminist activist, 32 years old, social entrepreneuse, she works in advocacy for gender equality and women's sexual rights.

She is a passionate young feminist dedicated to the cause of women and girls, and advocates for the empowerment and the effective inclusion of young people and women in all economic, political and social development policies, both at national and regional levels. A lawyer by training, she specialises in gender, development and human rights. Maimouna became involved at a young age in advancing the rights of women and girls in her country and has led several girls' and young women's leadership organisations since 2010.

Maimouna is also involved in the integration of young African women, particularly in French-speaking Africa, and she initiated and co-founded PLAJEFLF (the African platform of young French-speaking women leaders). This platform was created in Niamey in November 2019.

Fatou Sow is a data entry operator and a secretary in a law firm while also being an office automation professional. Additionally, she is a community activist, peer educator, psychosocial mediator, and trainer in LILLO and DH. Her personal motivation was caused by the death of a loved one from HIV/AIDS due to a lack of knowledge and information.

Sow had some knowledge about HIV/AIDS, so with a feminist outlook, she decided to serve vulnerable marginalized women and girls. As a result, with a handful of friends who had the same vision, they set up the association, Kiraay, of which she is also president. All of this has allowed her to get involved at several levels and sectors in the integration of the community system. According to her, the values that govern her are commitment, respect, determination, fairness, equality, sisterhood, and confidentiality.

New Deal focal point since 2015, Sylvie is a young leader and fervent activist for human rights, particularly the rights of girls and children, in collaboration with the Centre Conseil Adolescent de Kolda and Paroles aux jeunes.

Her main activities focus on reproductive health and the sexuality of young people, early marriages, female circumcision, girl empowerment, civil status issues, education, nutrition and recently on alternatives to irregular migration.

President of the RFCP, after training in social communication and economic animation, Ms Ndiaye has been involved in community dynamics since 2002. In the field of health, she has been:

• Member of the Medina Health Committee (Centre Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba)
• Assistant on the Community Mobilisation Component of the study programme on the protection of health users/consumers in Senegal, CI/Africa - OSIWA: 2013 – 2014;
• User representative on the Albert Royer Children's Hospital Board of Directors for five years;
• Winner of the community health prize - ACDEV - University of Besançon : 2012;
• Winner of the community health prize - ACDEV - University of Besançon : 2010;
• Coordinator of the organic farming marketing network (Enda PRONAT programme)
• Coordinator of the Approche Participative du SIDA (ANCS) sub-project in Pikine.
  

Mrs Ndeye Farma NDAO is the newly elected President of the Youth Network appointed at the last ordinary general assembly held in February 2022. She is an active militant for women’s and children’s rights, a leader in the National Movement of Pioneers of Senegal, a legal advisor for companies and businesses and obtained her Master II in Private Law at the Faculty of Legal and Political Sciences of the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.

Born in Kaolack, Khadidiatou Wane has been involved in community life as a versatile relay in the Mbour health district since 1999, helping and guiding women in matters of health.

Her community engagement led her to create the Soppe Sa Jabotte association, which works for women’s empowerment and the prevention of diseases. Her commitment and community involvement led to her being elected president of the “Badienou Gox” in Mbour department in 2010, a position she still holds today. She also chairs the FDEA savings and credit mutual.

Convinced that women must be trained to ensure their autonomy, she has a diploma in sewing and another in fruit and vegetable and cereal processing. Finally, she has opened a sewing room in her home to help girls from disadvantaged backgrounds who cannot afford training.

Originally a middle school Spanish teacher from 2008 to 2018, the president of the association AFUG, Mrs Toh Bi née Konan Kindôh Colombe Hilaire has been a Teaching Inspector (Spanish option) since 2021. Her ambition to contribute to the empowerment of the women of Gbougbô 2 led her to create the AFUG Association of which she is president.

Larissa Mabo trained as a psychologist and also holds a higher degree in human resources management. She has over 19 years of experience in coordinating community-based HIV/AIDS projects funded by donors such as PEPFAR, USAID, UNOCI-AIDS. She managed the first community-based voluntary counselling and testing centre in Côte d'Ivoire, which was awarded the prize for best community-based structure. She has also been part of the national pool of advanced trainers since 2005. Finally, she is the president of the NGOs CEDV, Milles Espoirs and Anonyme CI.

A nurse by training, KOUAME Akoua Pélagie worked in private clinics in Abidjan for around ten years.

In 2009, she became involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS as a volunteer with the Espace Confiance NGO, where she was a Bio-Lab Technician at Bietry. In 2012, she was recruited as a Community Screening Agent at the NGO BLETY where she initiated HIV/AIDS Counselling and Testing through an advanced strategy in the sex worker community in the 10 communes of Abidjan and among other Vulnerable Populations at the NGO Arc-en-ciel plus, on the IMPACT project of Heartland Alliance International, as well as other projects. In 2013, she was recruited by Espace Confiance ANYAMA. She later became a Community Advisor / Supervisor on the Global Fund ROUND 9 project in the regions of Agneby Tiassa and Mé. The sum of her experiences led her to found the NGO Conscience et Vie (COVIE) on 30 March 2014, becoming its first President. In 2015 KOUAME Akoua Pélagie was recruited by the members of the Board of Directors as Executive Director to ensure the daily management of the Association. As Executive Director of the NGO COVIE, her priority is to be closer to vulnerable populations.

Irad Gbazale is a teacher, communicator by training and former local radio host. She founded and runs the NGO Femme en action and since September 2020 has been leading the Réseau des médiatrices de paix communautaire de Côte d’Ivoire [Community Peace Mediators Network] as National Coordinator. This network was set up by UN Women Côte d'Ivoire and the Ministry of Women, Family and Children. She is a member of the Committee to include gender in the electoral process (CSGPE-CI) and a member of the Peace and Security Network for Women in the ECOWAS region (RESFECO-CI), and is responsible for communication with the Group of Women's Organisations for Gender Equality (GOFEHF) and the Collective of Activists of Côte d'Ivoire (CACI).

Kouamé Josiane has held several positions of responsibility in community organizations:

• President of the NGO GNOUWIETA -(POADCI) - Regional President of Haut-Sassandra
• NGO association of defenders and helpers of housewives and servants of Côte d'Ivoire (ADDAD) - Regional President of Haut Sassandra
• Catholic Women's Association - President of the Military Chaplaincy of Daloa
• Association of military wives of Côte d'Ivoire region of Daloa - President of the wives of retired soldiers
• RIP+ - Focal Point Haut-Sassandra - Ivorian Network for the Defense of Children's and Women's Rights - Member
• Public finance project, I participate - Member
• Regional platform (Haut-Sassandra) for GBV and OVC - Member
• Federation of Women's Associations of Daloa - Member

I am a health policy and programme analyst. I have a Masters in Health Policy Analysis and a Bachelors in Social Science. I am President and Coordinator of the Jeunes Engagées pour une Sexualité Saine (JESS) project. I have 2 years of experience in programming and coordinating sexual and reproductive health rights project activities. I was a founding member in 2019 and have been President of JESS since May 2021, my activism stems from my passion to be a changemaker especially in the health and social field. Advocating for young people’s access to FP is more than a simple question of equity, it is a basic human right. Sexual and reproductive health contributes to the physical, physiological, emotional and even cultural development of the individual. That's why I got involved in this cause, because having access to information as a teenager, I was able to make decisions, make informed choices and give a direction to my life that has been and still is beneficial to me as an adult.

After her baccalaureate at the Lycée Moderne d'Abobo, Aîssata obtained her Master’s in Modern Literature and, in 2014, did a professional Master’s in Cultural Development. Since 2018, she has been the municipal councillor responsible for NGOs in the commune of Dabou. In 2013, she created the Mouvement pour l'indépendance et l'épanouissement de la femme (MIEFF) to create conditions that can contribute to women’s empowerment and well-being.

CISSE Khady Epse BINATE is a young African woman from the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. A midwife, she is also a Certified Sexuality, Seduction, and Couple’s Life Coach. Khady is passionate about adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health issues and is fully committed to them. Since 5 May 2021, Khady Cissé has been President of the Federation of Youth and Children's Movements and Associations of Côte d'Ivoire (FEMAJECI), making her the first woman to hold this position for a Federation that has existed since 1960.

Strongly committed to the service of young people, she is also Vice-President of the National Youth Council of Côte d'Ivoire (CNJCI). In her desire to have a positive and sustainable impact in her community, in 2019 she created an NGO called The Organisation pour la Santé de l'Enfant de la Femme et de la Famille (OSEFF) which aims to promote the sexual and reproductive health of young people, more specifically good menstrual hygiene management.

To better serve this commitment, she has published two important books on the menstrual cycle, namely “Mon agenda super Mousso” and “Premières Menstrues? No Panic”. Two books written to facilitate the management of menstruation by women, especially young girls. A social entrepreneur, Ms Khady Cissé is the creator of a brand of reusable menstrual pads called “Eco Pad” to contribute to the growth and development of young girls both in and out of school. Today, Khady has some 15 years of community life experience serving young people and especially young girls in her community.

Founding president of the TCHELE WOYE NGO, she is a trained secretary. After several years of professional experience, she decided to create her own organisation to fight against discrimination against girls and women.

Today, as head of a company specialising in food, clothing and printing, she is also a financial literacy trainer and project coordinator. Her passion for humanitarian work has made her an active member of several community organisations.

Born in Dimbokro, Côte-d'Ivoire, on 26 March 1970, Anne CECILE KONAN has a Master’s in Geography with a population option and a DESCOM in communication with a human resources management option. Secretary General of the Fédération des Associations pour la promotion sociale des handicapés de Cote d’Ivoire (FAHCI - Federation of Associations for the Social Promotion of the Disabled of Cote d’Ivoire) since September 2005 and a founding member of unafehci where she served as President from 2006 to 2010 and from 2018 to date.

Born in Saint-Louis, Senegal, Madeleine Cécile Marie Joseph Boguifo is a corporate lawyer. Concerned about the well-being of the population, especially the most vulnerable, she works as a volunteer in the NGO "Y-Voir & Sourire" where she is responsible for the cervical and breast cancer screening project and the follow-up of women in prisons.