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Barack Obama has told the leaders of African nations that they must educate their girls and treat their women as equals if they are to be prosperous.

Addressing the African Union in Ethiopia today, the United States President said: 鈥淚f you want your country to grow and succeed, you have to empower your women.鈥�

He reiterated the points made in an earlier speech in Kenya, when he听sent an emphatic message that educating girls and not treating them as second-class citizens is key to countries becoming economic success stories.

President Obama spoke to the African Union in Addis Ababa at the end of his five-day trip to Ethiopia and Kenya, where his father came from.

He called for an end to child marriage and female genital mutilation, telling national leaders: 鈥淲hen African girls are subjected to the mutilation of their bodies or forced into marriage at the ages of nine or 10 or 11, that sets us back. That鈥檚 not a good tradition. It needs to end.

鈥淭he single best indicator of whether a nation will succeed is how it treats its women.鈥� 鈥� to the African Union
鈥� The White House (@WhiteHouse)

鈥淲hen more than 80% of new HIV cases in the hardest-hit countries are teenage girls, that鈥檚 a tragedy.鈥�

He spoke about a partnership between the US government and 10 African countries to keep teenage girls safe and free of AIDS. He also mentioned his wife Michelle鈥檚 initiative , which aims to expand access to education for adolescent girls around the world.

Prssident Obama added: 鈥淲hen girls cannot go to school and grow up not knowing how to read or write that denies the world future women engineers, future women doctors, future women business owners, future women presidents. That sets us all back.听That鈥檚 a bad tradition. Not providing our girls the same education as our sons.

鈥淭he single best indicator of whether a nation will succeed is how it treats its women. When women have health care and women have education families are stronger, communities are more prosperous, children do better in school.鈥�

During his visit to Kenya, President Obama said one of the most successful development policies was 鈥済iving girls an education and removing the obstacles that stand between them and their dreams鈥�.

President Obama speaks in Nairobi Picture:听White House Photo by Pete Souza

He added: 鈥淎ny nation that fails to educate its girls or employ its women, allowing them to maximise their potential, is doomed to fall behind in a global economy.

鈥渋f you educate girls, they grow up to be moms. And they, because they鈥檙e educated, are more likely to produce educated children. So Kenya will not succeed if it treats women and girls as second-class citizens. I want to be very clear about that.鈥�

Speaking to a crowd of 4500 students civil society leaders and others at a sports arena in the capital Nairobi on July 26, President Obama called on the country鈥檚 youth to help build the future of their country.

He highlighted the achievements of young Kenyans such as child rights activist Josephine Kulea, whose foundation rescues girls from child marriage and FGM.

He said: 鈥淭reating women and girls as second-class citizens, those are bad traditions. They need to change. They鈥檙e holding you back.

Students among the excited crowd to see him in Nairobi

鈥淭here鈥檚 no excuse for sexual assault or domestic violence. There鈥檚 no reason that young girls should suffer genital mutilation. There鈥檚 no place in civilised society for the early or forced marriage of children. These traditions may date back centuries; they have no place in the 21st century.鈥�

An estimated 26% of girls in Kenya are married before they are 18, according to the organisation .

Its website says says: 鈥淎 high prevalence of HIV in Kenya means that young married girls are particularly at risk. In a study in Kisumu, 33% of married girls surveyed were infected with HIV as opposed to 22% for their sexually active, unmarried counterparts.鈥�

The Kenyan parliament adopted a new law last year 鈥� setting 18 as the minimum age of marriage for both men and women. It applies to all forms of marriage including Islamic and customary marriages.