Emmanuel Aku
For example, the continent recorded a GDP growth of approximately 3.8 in 2022 which is above the global average of 3.4.
I am particularly proud of the progress being made in an area of work that is close to my heart, the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
Honourable Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda MP, Minister of Health in Malawi, is congratulated as Malawi becames the first country in southern Africa to eliminate trachoma
NTDs are a group of preventable and treatable diseases that affect close to 1.7 billion people around the world.
Heads of State also endorsed the Continental Framework whose vision is to free Africa of all NTDs by 2030 and provides guidance on key approaches that should be implemented as well as the Common African Position that recommends how to address NTDs in Africa.
The countries achievement and continental leadership are both a cause for celebration, as the African Union marks its 60th anniversary.
Ghana was the first country in subSaharan African country to eliminate trachoma, and just last week the World Health Organization announced that Mali and Benin had eliminated trachoma, bringing to seven the number of countries in Africa that have eliminated this painful and disabling disease.