The session will focus on the question of promoting and highlighting tried and tested traditional practices that could be adopted by communities on sexual and reproductive health for positive behavioural change.

Mrs. Sia Koroma will join a panel of first Ladies to share specific experiences of their countries and adopt a commitment in order to promote positive traditional practices which can further improve reproductive health.

The general objective of the session is to contribute to the improvement of reproductive health of the populations in general and of women in particular whilst the First Ladies will identify the best traditional and cultural practices, with a view to improving reproductive health and access to services.

They would determine the positive impacts, of the best traditional and cultural practices, and establish the possibility of their extension/dissemination at national as well as transnational levels, also listing the constraints of different practices, and draw up and adopt a road map.

At the end of the session, it is expected that among other outcomes, the best traditional and cultural practices enabling the improvement of reproductive health and access to services would have been identified leading the First Ladies to making a commitment that would be called “the Bamako Commitment.”