By Vision Reporter

THE First Lady, Mrs. Janet Museveni, has hailed the First Ladies of Africa for disproving the myth that they are women of leisure.

“For a long time, a myth existed that First Ladies were women of leisure, who did not do anything. I think most people now realise that the real life of a First Lady in Africa is in the community services work you have exhibited in your respective countries,” said Mrs. Museveni.

She was hosting the visiting First ladies of Namibia, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Nigeria and Guinea Bissau to a luncheon at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Monday.

The luncheon was also attended by other dignitaries, including Uganda’s ambassadors, visiting ministers and senior government officials.

The guests also viewed documentaries, which exposed them to the challenges of maternal health in Burkina Faso and Tanzania and exchanged gifts, according to a statement issued from State House yesterday.

Mrs. Museveni noted that maternal and child health was still a big challenge in many African countries, saying there was hope for improvement with the concerted efforts of all the African states.

Earlier in the day, Mrs. Museveni met with the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan, with whom they discussed issues related to improving maternal and child health in their respective countries.

Mrs. Jonathan was accompanied by the Nigerian foreign affairs minister and the First Ladies of the Abia and Kogi states of Nigeria.