Ethiopia’s Dr Arkebe Oqubay, was endorsed as Africa's sole candidate for the post of Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, UNIDO by the Executive Committee meeting of 3 and 4 February 2021.

Three ambassadors present credentials

Three ambassadors presented their letters of credence to the African Union Commission Chairperson Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat in March. They are:

• E. Ms. Jainaba Jagne, the Ambassador of the Republic of The Gambia and Permanent Representative to the AU.
• E. Mr. Mahamat Ali Hassan, the Ambassador of the Republic of Chad to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU.
• E. Ms. Jean Njeri Kamau, the Ambassador the Republic of Kenya’s to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU.

African Union Commemorates two important days in March

Commemoration of the 2021 African Day of School Feeding took place under the theme "Harnessing Africa's Traditional Knowledge and Food to Support Sustainable School Feeding Programmes and Systems During COVID-19 Response and Beyond". Read the communique here: https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20210301/commemoration-6th-african-day-school-feeding

On 24 March, the AU joined the world to commemorate World TB Day. The Commission encouraged AU Member States to leverage this day to exchange knowledge on common challenges and opportunities for collaborative implementation of effective TB control measures. Read the full statement of the Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development

MoU reinforcing AUC-UNAIDS partnership to end AIDS signed

The African Union Commission signed an MoU with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) to reinforce their partnership and to re commit to member states to end AIDS. The MoU commits partners to work towards addressing the socio-economic and political impact of HIV in Africa and accelerate the goal of reaching universal health coverage. It is expected to pave the way for more resilient agile and inclusive health systems in Africa.