Her Excellency, Mrs. Joyce Hilda Banda
Former President of the Republic of Malawi and Founder of the Joyce Banda Foundation
Her Excellency, Mrs. Joyce Hilda Banda, is a Former President of the Republic of Malawi. She was President of the Republic of Malawi from 2012 to 2014. She was Malawi’s first female President and Africa’s Second Female Head of State. President Banda’s mission in life is to assist women and youth gain social and political empowerment through entrepreneurship and education. She has spent the past thirty years as a development practitioner, a philanthropist and a champion for social justice and equality. She established the Joyce Banda Foundation in 1998 and the Foundation provides integrated rural development services to more than 300,000 resource poor beneficiaries. Through its integrated programs, the Foundation provides programs and support for early childhood development, education, maternal health and safe motherhood, food and nutrition security, agricultural development, water and sanitation and women's leadership. Her Excellency serves as an advisor to the Community for Zero Hunger, a multi-sectoral global initiative in response to the UN Zero Hunger Challenge. In addition, she recognizes that hunger and malnutrition are among the greatest injustices of our time, and require deliberate action involving all sectors. Her Excellency served as Vice President from 2009 to 2012.