Winnie Byanyima Recognized Among Africa's Most 100 Change
Makers 2023
Winnie Byanyima, an esteemed grassroots activist, human
rights champion, and renowned advocate for women's rights, has been
acknowledged as one of Africa's top 100 Change Makers of 2023. Currently
serving as the Executive Director of UNAIDS, she hails from Uganda, where she
held three terms in the Ugandan Parliament for a remarkable eleven years.
With a profound expertise in women's rights, she founded the
Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), a prominent NGO in Uganda, and has held
key roles at the African Union Commission and the United Nations Development
Programme, notably as Director of Gender and Development. Before her tenure at
UNAIDS, she led Oxfam International as its Executive Director from 2013 to
2019.
Byanyima has been instrumental in advancing peace efforts
across Africa, notably as a signatory to Uganda's 1985 peace agreement and her
support for women's involvement in peace processes across the continent. She
has also been a driving force behind initiatives bringing women's perspectives
to the forefront of development issues.
Noteworthy among these is her co-founding of the Global
Gender and Climate Alliance and her leadership in UN-wide task forces focusing
on gender aspects of the Millennium Development Goals and climate change.
Throughout her illustrious career, Byanyima has contributed
to numerous global boards and commissions, currently serving on the Executive
Board of the International Centre for Research on Women. Naming her as one of
Africa’s most impacful 100 change makers is well deserved.
