ECOSOCC calls Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to participate in the World Cleanup Day on 21 September 2019 and support the ‘KeepItCleanPlan’ Africa Initiative.

Friday, September 6 2019; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union (AU) calls every Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Africa and in the Diaspora to unite and participate in the World Cleanup Day Campaign that will be held globally on 21 September 2019 – when millions of volunteers in over 160 countries will unite forces and express their concern for the environment, to clean their countries from waste pollution in a single day.

The increasing rate of environmental degradation, climate change, and economic linearity is a concern for all stakeholders in the world and especially to the African Union; therefore, ECOSOCC through the Rural Economy & Agriculture (REA) Cluster, has aligned itself with the goals of the Let’s Do it! World (LDIW), AU’s Agenda 2063 and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to organize a full-scale campaign project against indiscriminate refuse dumping and implementation of efficient waste management framework tagged ‘Keep-it-Clean-Plan’ which captures the mechanism for a circular economy.

According to Abozer E.M. Elligai , ECOSOCC Presiding Officer , “This global civic-led action will unite countries and local communities across Africa and the world in taking a stand to face the challenges of mismanaged wastes and illegal dumpsites, which is tarnishing our ecosystem and society. The KeepItClean project has all our support and we are looking forward to it, we are committed at ECOSOCC to support the AU in the achievement of the 2063 agenda, this collaboration is much needed.”

In 2018, the World Cleanup Day brought together 17.8 million people from 157 countries who cleaned up nearly 100 thousand tons of waste in 24 hours. While in Africa, over 294,115 volunteers united and hosted cleanups that cleaned up 8,042 tons of trash.

“We believe that this campaign will move us closer in achieving our Africa Agenda 2063 – the Africa we want, where we will experience inclusive growth and sustainable development by optimizing the use of Africa’s resources. We hereby call upon all Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Africa and in the Diaspora to participate in this event on 21 September 2019 by hosting a cleanup in their communities says Haddou Luyeye Kundomba, Chair REA, ECOSOCC.

ECOSOCC is the civil society policy organ of the African Union. For more information visit: https://au.int/en/ecosocc-division
Let’s Do it World (LDIW) is a global movement that stands for a cleaner world. For more information visit: www.worldcleanupday.org or [Email: gafar.odubote@ldiw.org]