This archive report was first published on 7 July 2019.
On Saturday, a meeting of African First Ladies in Niamey, Niger's capital, explored ways to address the burden of cancer in Africa. The meeting was held on the margins of the 12th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of African Union.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, who is in Niamey for the 23rd Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) General Assembly, attended the meeting as the Vice President of OAFLAD. She was invited by Dr. Lalla Malika Issoufou Mahamadou, the First Lady of Niger and host of the meeting.
The fight against cancer is a key area of focus in First Lady Margaret Kenyatta's second Beyond Zero Strategic Plan for the period 2018 to 2022. The plan aims to influence investment for decentralized services for breast and cervical cancer prevention, treatment, and management.
At the meeting, the First Ladies issued a communiqué urging all stakeholders to support the initiative to curb non-communicable diseases, including cancer prevention and treatment. The communiqué was read by First Lady Sika Bella Kaboré of Burkina Faso.
‘We, the First Ladies of Africa, would like to make an appeal to the international community, to the African Union, to regional and sub-regional organizations, civil societies, governments, and all stakeholders to support this initiative to curb non-communicable disease including the prevention and treatment of cancer,' the communiqué read in part.
The meeting was also addressed by Presidents Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger), Idriss Déby (Chad), and Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (Burkina Faso), who committed their support in the fight against the disease.
