The First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo on Sunday joined her colleague First Ladies, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the 20th Ordinary General Assembly of the Organisation of African First Ladies (OAFLA) in a closed session to endorse a communiqué that enjoins African countries to do more to reduce HIV and AIDS in Africa.
The meeting that follows an open session held on the previous day and attended, by representatives of the five regional blocks, comprising Western, Eastern, Southern, Northern and Central Africa, also enabled the first ladies to adopt the minutes of the 19th Ordinary session held in July last year.
The biannual assembly, is held in January and July of every year under the Chairmanship of the OAFLA President.
At this session, being held on the theme: “Transforming Africa through Prioritising Children, Adolescents and Mothers in the Fight against HIV”, Mrs Roman Tasfaye, First Lady of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is chairing the Assembly as the President of OAFLA.
Other first ladies attending the General Assembly include, Mrs Margaret Gakuo Kenyatta, the Kenyan First Lady and Mrs Hinda Deby Itno, the Chadian First Lady, among many others who form the 31 active membership out of the 42 registered countries of OAFLA.
The OAFLA General Assembly allows the First Ladies to brief each other about what they have been doing to improve on the fight against HIV and AIDS in their respective countries as well as for the OAFLA Secretariat to brief members on what it had done and how they had supported country offices to improve upon their HIV response.
In attendance of the Session were Ghana’s HIV and AIDS technical officials led by Mrs Mokowa Blay Adu-Gyamfi, Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, who is also the Technical Adviser on HIV and AIDS to the First Lady.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo later joined President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the AU General Assembly meeting, being attended by the Heads of State and their Spouses and other Ministers of State and officials, earlier on Sunday afternoon.
The main OAFLA General Assembly Open Session would be held on January 29, where Mrs Akufo-Addo would be sharing with her on how she had personally contributed to the fight against HIV and AIDS, especially, on elimination of Mother -to-Child Transmission.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana