Your expertise in this field is vital to the work of the 42 nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women. It is pleasing to note that this meeting is brokered by four UN entities, a clear demonstration of the synergy UN agencies are already developing in the spirit of the Secretary-General's reforms. This meeting provides an important and timely opportunity for us to situate the adolescent African girl child in the context of African youth in general, and to reiterate the fact that the rights of adolescent girls are the rights of us all. In their hands will rest economic, social, political and developmental responsibility - from the family and village level to the national and continental level. As a sub-set of Africa's adolescents.
Girls die sooner than boys.
On the continent, more die before they reach the age of 5. More than half the women in sub-Saharan Africa over 25 years of age are illiterate. Consistently, across the continent, fewer women than men can read and write. The comparable ratios are 32 per cent in Burkina Faso and 35 per cent in Sierra Leone. Ladies and Gentlemen, There are overwhelming arguments as to why we should invest in girls today to ensure a level playing field for the woman of tomorrow.