Thokozani Khupe nominated for the African Achievers Award

Thokozani Khupe, the MDC Vice President who is also Zimbabwe's Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) has been nominated as one of the few Africans to be honoured with an African Achievers Award for service to Democracy and Women Empowerment.

Since her appointment as the DPM in February 2009, Khupe has set her focus on improving the quality of life of women and has been at the forefront of the 50/50 representation in Parliament.

It is her belief that unless women are represented in Parliament, their issues will remain unresolved.

Issues such as gender budgeting and access to equal opportunities can be addressed if women are equally represented in Parliament since this is where budgets are passed and laws are made.

DPM Khupe held the first ever Women's Economic Development Summit that was supported by many non-governmental organizations such as SIDA, CIDA, USAID, DFID and Netherlands Embassy.

This women's National Summit came up with a document known as the Women's Economic Development Plan that identified the various sectors of our economy, namely tourism, mining, manufacturing and agriculture in which women can actively participate.

Through her "Meet the Deputy Prime Minister's Forum," the DPM has managed to create a link between her office and women from all walks of life. This has given her the opportunity to clearly understand women's issues and work towards finding solutions.

In her capacity as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Campaign on the Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality, the DPM has advocated for the removal of user fees for pregnant women.

Since the unveiling of the $450 million health sector fund by the developmental partners and the $10 million set aside by the Ministry of Finance for the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, it will not be long before Zimbabwe's pregnant women access pre- and post-natal care without paying any money. She has donated to orphanages, old people's homes and at hospitals.

In September 2010, the DPM was elected the President of the Global Power Women Network Africa.

This is a network of women of influence in Africa that seek to address the challenges of HIV/AIDS prevalence among women and girls and also through programmes that give women economic emancipation.

Recently, the DPM went public about her breast cancer condition, thereby creating much awareness on the various cancers that affect women. The DPM still urges women to visit hospitals for mammogram tests, since early detection of cancer can save lives.

The African Achievers Award is an innovative project by CAASSUK.

The award recognises successful and confident Africans who unselfishly invest their time and talents towards building a stronger community.

The award categories range from; business and entrepreneurship, arts and culture, community services and education, leadership and excellence, among others.

It is a recognition of those that have contributed in the rising of Africa.

The first recipient of this Prestigious Award was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Laureate and former Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town in South Africa. 

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