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February 06, 2021
The Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) have elected H.E. Felix- Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as the new Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2021. The event took place today, Saturday 6 February 2021 during the ongoing Thirty-Fourth (34th) Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union, holding virtually under the theme: “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”.
The President of the RDC is taking over the baton of command from H.E. Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, who has concluded today his term as the Chairperson of the African Union for the year 2020.
Objective: The Assembly is expected to deliberate and consider the following agenda items among others;
Report on the Institutional Reform of the AU -
Report on the progress on the African Union response on COVID-19 pandemic in Africa;
Elections and appointments of the Leadership of the AU Commission.
Worth noting that, the hashtags for the theme of the year 2021 are:
Hashtag: #ArtsCultureHeritage
#AfricanHeritage
Journalists are invited to follow the livestream link provided above to cover the official opening and closing ceremonies of the 34
th
About the African Union:
The African Union spearheads Africa’s development and integration in close collaboration with African Union Member States, the Regional Economic Communities and African citizens.
38th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council
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Media Advisory/ 34th AU Summit
38th ORDINARY SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
What: Official opening of the thirty-eight (38th) Ordinary Session of the Executive Council (Video conference)
Theme: “Arts, Culture and Heritage: Levers for Building the Africa We Want”.
When: The virtual meeting will be held from Wednesday 3 to Thursday 4 February 2021 as from 10:00 a.m.
Who: Organized by the African Union Commission (AUC)
How: The 38th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council will officially open on 3rd February 2021, in the presence of the leadership and officials of the AU Commission. The opening ceremony will include, among others, a speech by the Chairperson of the Executive Council, and a welcome remark by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, before the ministers proceed into close session to deliberate on their agenda issues.
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January 28, 2021
The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a new grant of US$12 million to the Africa Public Health Foundation to help expand the geographic coverage of testing and to strengthen contact tracing for COVID-19 in Africa through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).
“Equitable access to testing and tracing is essential to rapidly identify and respond to COVID-19 outbreaks until a vaccine is widely available to all,” said Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. “One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, too many people still do not have access to the tools that they need to keep themselves, their families, and their communities healthy and safe. We’re pleased to work with the Africa Public Health Foundation and Africa CDC to catalyse a more efficient and inclusive response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic across the continent”.
Background Information
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread to about 220 countries and territories with more than 98.7 million cases; and claimed the lives of over 2.1 million people worldwide. In Africa, over 3.4 million cases have been reported in all countries, with nearly 86,000 deaths.
Africa CDC continue to work with Member States to ensure an effective response to the outbreak by Member States, including maintaining key public health measures which have helped to slow down the pandemic on the continent during the first wave. Those measures remain crucial as many countries tackle a second wave of infections and a new variant of the virus in more than 15 countries.