PROTOCOL

Protocol [please check against final protocol list]

1. Her Honor, Mutale Nalumango, MP, Vice President of the Republic, Zambia;
2. His Excellency, Dr. KAMBA Samuel Roger, Minister of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chairperson of the 4^th Specialised Technical Committee on Health, Population and Drug Control of the African Union;
3. Her Excellency Mme. Diene Keita, United Nations Undersecretary General, and UNFPA Deputy Executive Director;
4. Engineer Honourable Charles Milupi, MP, Acting Minister, Finance and National Planning, Zambia
5. Her Excellency Ambassador Noemí Ruth Espinoza Madrid, Chairperson of the 57^th Commission on Population and Development, and Deputy Head of Mission to the People’s Republic of China for the Republic of Honduras;
6. Distinguished Heads and Representatives of International and Regional Organisations;
7. Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am profoundly pleased to see us convening today for this important discussion on the 10-years Review of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development. Please receive, Excellencies, my sincere regrets for not being on the ground.

I am exceedingly pleased to see the incredible response from Member States, Partners and Stakeholders for this meeting. Our meeting today was proceeded by the African Population Experts Committee. The APEC considered the outcomes of the Addis Ababa Declaration 10-Year Review in extended detail, paving the way for the Ministers In-Charge of Population Meeting taking place today.

I also wish to recognise the voices of young people, civil society and major groups also in the room, who convened on 6^th November to articulate independent views and inputs into this review.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen

We convene at a time of great, global uncertainties and challenges. Dark circumstances continue to plague our world, challenging us all to ensure that our actions going forward are defined by our collective humanity. I wish to take this opportunity to convey a message of solidarity to the people’s across the African continent and the world, who are currently living and experiencing great periods of conflict and insecurity – impacting irreversibly their ways of life and livelihoods. The impact of conflicts on people’s lives, in societal progress and cohesion, and continuity of life, services and connections, speaks volumes on the kind of actions we must all avoid if this world is to move forward in a manner that is cohesive; guided by multilateralism; and builds on our differences but more importantly, the qualities we share.

As we look at the 10-Years of the Addis Ababa Declaration on Population and Development, where we see mixed progress across its pillars, as well as a number of areas where we see a significant amount of unfinished work – the African Union Commission continues to be committed on this shared agenda. The investments by Member States, and indeed by all our partners at all levels and role you play to consolidate the reflections from these reviews across the world remains important to us. Please accept Excellencies, Dear Partners and Friends, my considered assurances to build on this further.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen

The African Union Commission’s continues to drive action on all the pillars of the Addis Ababa Declaration. On dignity and equality, the Commission is driving continental action on gender, women and youth development, including on the elimination of violence against women and girls, ending gender-based violence and harmful practices. We have successful programmes on ending early and forced child marriages, and recently concluded the 2^nd International Conference on Female Genital Mutilation with strong participation of Member States through the Saleema Initiative.

On Health, our comprehensive health and humanitarian affairs programme – with interventions such as the CARMMA campaign; African AIDS Watch; African Medicines Agency; African Leaders Malaria Alliance – to mention a few – ensure that we keep all health priorities high on the agenda.

Under Place and Mobility, we are advancing closer cooperation and collaboration with all stakeholders on the migration question – with the Commission, working with Member States, establishing a number of regional migration centres to help address a growing crisis.

Governance and Partnership are also critical in our work – where we collaborate closely with Member States and partners to bring our priorities, lessons and common challenges on the same table, helping us to define where we need to bring resources together and where we can increase and enhance collaboration and partnership.

As such, the 10-year review was an important exercise that has reinforced our collective commitments as set out in the Continental Transformative Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda. Looking forward into the next decade of the Addis Ababa Declaration, we are encouraged at the opportunity to reflect on the unfinished business in the development and implementation of the Second Decade Strategic Plan of Agenda 2063.

I thank all Member States for submission of your national review reports to the Addis Ababa Declaration 10-years Review and call on all remaining States to make their submissions, as these reports will be critical in having a well-rounded analysis of continental progress moving forward. As you know, we will submit the continental review report for consideration as part of the global International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 30-year review, led by the United Nations.

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen

I take this opportunity to convey sincere appreciation to both the UN Economic Commission for African and the UN Population Fund for their contributions leading to this review and, unwavering support in making this meeting possible. Particularly, I wish to also recognise and express the Commission’s profound gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Zambia for graciously hosting this gathering.              

I thank you for your kind attention and look forward to the outcomes and decision of this meeting and wish you also take the time to enjoy sunny Lusaka.