Her Excellency Mrs. Monica Geingos, First Lady of the Republic of Namibia, has been an outspoken champion for women and girls and gender equality in Namibia and globally. In this episode, Janet Fleischman, senior associate with the Global Health Policy Center at CSIS, speaks with Mrs. Geingos about why Covid-19’s disproportionate impact on women and girls should push countries and donors to prioritize them in policy and funding, why the world keeps making the same mistakes in responding to pandemics and global health security, why multi-sectoral initiatives like PEPFAR’s DREAMS are so critical, and why she tells girls and young women not to aspire to become first ladies – but to be politically and economically empowered.