Press Release

Chairperson receives donation of medical equipment from All-China Women’s Federation

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr. Jean Ping, on 8 March 2011, at the AUC Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, received an important donation of medical equipment from the All-China Women’s Federation, consisting mainly of medical delivery kits, which will be distributed by the African Women Trust Fund to various African countries for use by women in rural areas.

Handing over the equipment on behalf of the All-China Women’s Federation, China’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, H.E. Mr. Gu Xiaojie, highlighted the significance of organizing the event on the Centenary of International Women’s Day and seized the opportunity to express his best wishes to all African women, especially female staff of the AUC.

He commended the “admirably strong leadership” of the AU in helping the continent to achieve significant progress in maternal health and cited statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which indicate that the number of African women who die from complications during pregnancy and child birth has dropped by 34% from about 546,000 in 1990 to 358,000 in 2008.

With regard to relations between China and the African Union, Ambassador Gu Xiaojie said that China and the AU enjoy “a longtime friendship and good cooperation,” adding that China highly values the role of the AU and considers China-AU relations as “an important and inalienable part of the new type of China-Africa Strategic Partnership.” He assured his audience that China will spare no efforts to “make its contribution to help African countries in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”

On her part, Ms. Beatrice Karago, representing Kenya’s Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, H.E. Ms Monica Juma, and speaking on behalf of her country which currently chairs the AU Bureau of Ministers of Gender and Women’s Affairs, said that the equipment would be instrumental in facilitating safe delivery, thereby contributing to improved maternal and infant mortality rates in Africa.

She underscored the importance of maternal and infant mortality as an indicator of the performance of a country’s healthcare system, and thanked the All-China Women’s Federation for the donation.

Receiving the equipment on behalf of the African Women Trust Fund, Chairperson Ping expressed his sincere thanks to the All-China Women’s Federation and the Chinese Government for the kind and generous donation.

“As we celebrate the International Women’s Day this year, we are reminded of the objective of the African Women’s Decade, which is to advance gender equality by accelerating the implementation of Dakar, Beijing and AU Assembly Decisions on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, through dual top down and bottom up approaches which are inclusive of grassroots participation,” the Chairperson stated.

The Chairperson underscored the important role of the Fund for African Women, as “a requisite vehicle for mobilizing resources for the implementation of the Decade themes”. He took the opportunity to thank All China-Federation through the Ambassador, for their initiative to support the Fund, adding that he looked forward to future support as the Commission works with Member States to roll out the 10 themes on the Decade.

The event was attended, among others, by the Commissioner for Trade and Industry, the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, the Chief of Staff in the Bureau of the Chairperson and the Director of Women and Gender.

Addis Ababa, 09 March 2011