First Lady now OAFLA president
The First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama, was officially sworn into office as the new President of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, over the weekend.
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Mrs Mahama who is to serve a two-year term was presented with the baton of office by the outgoing president of the organisation, Mrs Hinda Deby Itno, First Lady of Chad.
The OAFLA president is elected every two years by the OAFLA General Assembly.
Ghana’s First Lady is the seventh to be elected to serve as OAFLA president since the organisation’s establishment in 2002.
OAFLA was established by the African first ladies as a collective voice for Africa’s most vulnerable people, women and children infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Active members
Today, OAFLA has more than 26 African first ladies as its active members, each leading her national chapter to do exemplary work in the areas of HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, cervical and breast cancer.
In an address, Mrs Mahama commended her predecessor for the excellent leadership and service she offered the organisation during her period in office.
She said during the last 12 years, African first ladies had made tremendous contributions to African Union’s commitment to fast track efforts to reduce AIDS to the barest minimum.
Mrs Mahama said specifically African first ladies had achieved significant results as ambassadors for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission and for an AIDS-free generation.
Aggressive awareness
According to her, the first ladies had engaged in aggressive awareness raising campaigns and advocacy in their respective countries.
That, she said, had supported the substantial progress made on various Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and driven by that evidence, “we have expanded the mandate of OAFLA to address a broader set of sexual and reproductive health priorities”.
She said “our current OAFLA Strategic Plan (2014-2018) incorporates maternal, neo-natal and child health, cervical cancer and the empowerment of women, girls and children.
Under my leadership and with your support, OAFLA will strengthen ties with our existing partners and engage new private and non-governmental partners to achieve our strategic goals”.
The new president’s focus
“My focus will be on accelerating the campaign to eliminate new HIV infections among children and keep their mothers alive. We can eliminate mother-to-child transmission and ensure that no child is born with HIV and we shall achieve that,” Mrs Mahama emphasised.
She indicated that she would also advocate for a united and continental “All-in campaign”, which ensures that “we track progress among adolescents; and that no one is left behind.”
Mrs Mahama was optimistic that OAFLA would achieve its priorities by tirelessly educating and empowering the women and girls of the continent and ensuring that they become economically independent.
Vice president
In a speech read on her behalf, the vice president of OAFLA, Mrs Gertrude H. Mutharika, who is also the first lady of Malawi, said the occasion was historic as it marked another milestone in the journey as a body of African first ladies who were committed to making a difference on the African continent.
writers email: [email protected],gh