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The Organization of African First Ladies (OAFLA) held a General Assembly in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt from June 29 to July 01, 2008. OALFA was established on 8th July 2002 as a result of the Geneva special meeting attended by thirty-seven African First Ladies.
This was a response to the call to action from both the African Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and other related infectious diseases held in Abuja and United Nations General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. The OAFLA General Assembly meeting provided members the opportunity to review critical aspects of the organization, consolidate, and institutionalize the organization’s activities. Preliminary results of the OAFLA evaluation supported by UNAIDS was presented and the financial manual procedures were reviewed. Ethiopia has been at the forefront of these critical evaluations, particularly those concerning financial procedures, by raising these important issues during successive OAFLA meetings. Ethiopia believes that in order to become effective and transparent, institutionalizing OFLA through various organizational and procedural mechanisms will allow the organization to become a force for change in the region. 
Azeb Mesfin During this General Assembly, a new Steering Committee and a new president was elected to be the President of OAFLA. The election of OAFLA is conducted every two years and the new president will be First Lady of Ethiopia, Woizero Azeb Mesfin. The Vice President will be the first lady of Libya, Madam Safia Gadaffi. The new elected Steering Committee members are:- Ethiopia’s First Lady , Woizero Azeb Mesfin and Tanzania’s First Lady, Madam Salma kikwete from Eastern region; Mauritania’s First Lady, Madam Khet Bint al-Boukhariand and Libya’s First Lady, Madam Safia Gadaffi from Northern region; First Lady of Congo Brazaville, Madam Antoinette Sasou-Nguesso and First Lady of Chad, Madam Into Deby from Central region; First lady of lesetho, Madam Mothato Mosilsili and First Lady of Zambia, Madam Maureen Mwanawasa from Southern region; and First Lady of Nigeria, Madam Hadjia Umar Yarad’ua and First Lady of Sierra Leone, Madam Alice Sia Nyuma koroma from west Africa. The outgoing First Lady of Zambia served as President for the last two years with the headquarters in Lusaka. With the election of Ethiopia’s First Lady, the secretariat for OAFLA will now move to Addis Ababa. We congratulate the First Lady of Ethiopia who has been active as a Vice Chair for the sub-region for the last two years and contributed significantly to the work of OAFLA. National Coalition for Women Against HIV/AIDS(NCWH) |
