Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union has drawn to a close, with African leaders reaffirming their commitment to the continent’s development blueprint, Agenda 2063.
The summit, which brought together heads of state and government from across the continent, was marked by a sense of urgency and determination to address the pressing challenges facing Africa.
At the heart of the summit was the quest for sustainable peace, economic growth, and social development. Leaders acknowledged that the continent’s progress was being threatened by a range of challenges, including terrorism, pandemics, and climate change. In response, they pledged to work together to strengthen Africa’s resilience and capacity to respond to these challenges.
One of the key outcomes of the summit was the launch of a high-level platform on sustainable peace financing for Africa. The platform, which will explore innovative partnerships for the AU Peace Fund, is seen as a critical step towards addressing the continent’s peace and security challenges.
African leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to universal immunization, building on the Addis Declaration on Immunization. The summit heard that significant progress had been made in recent years, but that more needed to be done to ensure that all Africans had access to life-saving vaccines.
In the area of education and skills, leaders pledged to work together to accelerate action on education and skills development in Africa. They acknowledged that the continent’s young people were its greatest asset, and that investing in their education and skills was critical to Africa’s future prosperity.
The summit also saw the public presentation of Africa’s financing stability mechanism and strategic framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development. The mechanism, which is designed to provide financial support to African countries in times of crisis, is seen as a key step towards promoting economic stability and growth on the continent.
As the summit drew to a close, African leaders were unanimous in their determination to work together to achieve the continent’s development goals. With the stakes higher than ever, the success of the summit will be measured by the continent’s ability to translate its commitments into concrete actions.
Claudette Chin
