First Lady attends OAFLA meeting in New York

19th Sep 2017 | Source: Graphic Online

The First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, is to participate in a high-level Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS (OAFLA) meeting in New York.

The meeting, themed: “Global Partnership towards harnessing the demographic dividend in Africa,” will be held on the sidelines of the 72nd General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA).

The UNGA will start on Tuesday, September 12 and end on Monday, September 25, 2017. It is the assembly’s annual general debate, where heads of state and government and other senior national representatives gather to present their views about pressing world issues.

The President

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, is expected to address the General Assembly on Thursday, September 21, 2017. Prior to his address, the President will meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the group of 17 eminent persons serving as Sustainable Development Goals advocates on September 17, 2017.

The First Lady, who is accompanying the President, will also attend the sixth UNGA side event of African First Ladies Against Cancers. Worried about the increasing number of deaths on the continent through cervical, breast and prostate cancers, First Ladies from Africa formed the Forum of African First Ladies Against Breast, Cervical and Prostate Cancer in 2007 and initiated the Stop Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer in Africa (SCCA) Conference to help create awareness of the disease.

The meeting will help assess progress made so far on the continent relating to cancers and what more is needed to be done.

Reception

The President and the First Lady will together attend a reception hosted by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, and his wife on the occasion of the 72nd UNGA.

During the UNGA, the First Lady will also attend the annual ‘Speak up African Annual’ gala dinner. Speak up Africa is an advocacy and communications organisation that facilitates African leadership and ownership in tackling critical issues affecting the continent. It works at holding governments accountable through its advocacy activities, empowers communities through citizen engagement and raises critical resources to ensure the tools are available.