VOICES Project Calls on African Heads of State to Increase Commitment to Health at AU Summit

Published: August 15, 2010, 12:00 am

In partnership with an array of global health organizations, the VOICES for a Malaria-Free Future project at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for Communication Programs, called on heads of state to increase commitments to improve the health of women and children in Africa and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), during a jointly sponsored advocacy event on July 26 at the 15th African Union Summit in Kampala, Uganda.

Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda, addresses the AU Summit

According to the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Bience Gawanas, the summit was "historic." She said, "[W]e have been asking about political will and leadership and there is no doubt that the AU heads of states and governments have shown the political will to promote maternal and child health on the continent."

Other partners included United Against Malaria, African Leaders Malaria Alliance, UNAIDS, StopTB Partnership, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, UNITAID, The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, and the United Nations Foundation in addition to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization.

For more information about the AU Summit advocacy event, go to: http://www.malariafreefuture.org/news/success/uganda_ausummit.php [1].