Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, born Sylvia Valentin on 11 March 1963 in Paris, is a Franco-Gabonese personality.
A company director in the property development sector for several years, she became First Lady of Gabon on 16 October 2009, when her husband Ali Bongo Ondimba was sworn in as President of the Gabonese Republic. In 2011, she created the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation for the Family.
The First Lady's social commitment is marked by the United Nations General Assembly's recognition in 2010 of 23 June as International Widows' Day, following a campaign she led to lift the veil on the plight of these women, who are often victims of all kinds of aggression and spoliation in the recovery of their property following the death of their husbands, and to ensure their protection and the respect of their rights.
Since 2009, Sylvia Bongo's commitment to combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic, through her many lobbying efforts with President Ali Bongo Ondimba, her fellow citizens and the international community, has led to the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1308, recognising the need to include HIV/AIDS prevention skills in the training of peacekeeping personnel.
In June 2013, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba was appointed a member of the UNAIDS/The Lancet Commission "From AIDS to Sustainable Health".
Continuing her fight for widows, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba made a commitment in 2013 to combat violence against women in Gabon by lobbying society and public authorities. In 2020, in collaboration with international experts, the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation presented the Gabonese government with a study containing a set of recommendations aimed at promoting women's rights and reducing gender inequality in Gabon.
The government's Gabon Égalité programme was launched: a free, anonymous hotline, new laws, new rights and duties, the creation of a special unit to deal with gender-based violence in police stations, the opening of the first reception centre for victims of violence, and the creation of the Equality Observatory were just some of the measures implemented. The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law 2023 report highlights Gabon's historic progress in protecting its women. With a score of 95/100, Gabon ranks 25th in the world and first among African countries.
In 2013, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba founded the Ruban Vert international school, which offers a bilingual education programme and grants merit-based scholarships to students from less privileged backgrounds to improve equality of opportunity. Sylvia Bongo Ondimba places education at the heart of her personal commitment to training tomorrow's leaders. In 2013, through her Foundation, she created scholarships for excellence aimed at offering scholarships to bright pupils and students with strong leadership potential.
In August 2016, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba inaugurated "La Maison d'Alice", a home for life, unique in Central Africa, designed by the Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation to welcome, house and provide free support to cancer patients living outside the capital, in order to facilitate their access to the treatment centre in Libreville.
As part of the Gabon Marathon, the first IAAF-certified marathon in Africa, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, through her Foundation, is launching "La Gabonaise", a 5km solidarity race reserved exclusively for women to support women affected by cancer.
