Former President Jakaya Kikwete has been awarded for his excellence political leadership and protection of vulnerable groups especially women and children.
A New York-based organisation, Speak Up Africa, conferred the award on Mr Kikwete here on Thursday during the inaugural benefit and the organisation’s fifth anniversary dinner.
Mr Kikwete has been honoured for his contribution in the provision of basic health services, especially for mother and child health and the fight against malaria, through the national campaign dubbed ‘Malaria Haikubaliki,’which involved distribution of free treated mosquito nets, nutrition and vaccination campaigns.
Speak Up Africa Chief Executive Officer, Ms Kate Campana, also honoured the former president for being in the forefront in speaking up for the African continent while in power and after he had retired.
The former president was described as political leader who volunteered for vulnerable groups. Speaking after receiving the award, Mr Kikwete said it was for all African children who made him to stand in front of all the guests who attended the dinner.
“I have decided to dedicate my time even after my retirement to push for the agenda of improving the children’s lives because I was raised in similar environment and thus I understand their desire of having better life and health,” the former president observed.
He said the achievements in bringing basic social services to special groups was due to the kind of leadership he used to push for the agenda and sensitisation campaign in fighting against malaria by Speak Up Africa and ‘Malaria Haikubaliki’ campaign.
“I could not succeed without the support from international institutions, including Speak Up Africa. That is why we have managed to reduce malaria cases by two thirds, access to children vaccination by 96 per cent and reduce malaria-related deaths by a half,” Mr Kikwete told his audience.
He said he believed in cooperation with various stakeholders, including Ray Chambers through his campaign “Malaria No More,” Bill and Melinda Gates and Gavi Vaccination Alliance in which they worked together in implementing vaccination for all campaign.
He assured Speak Up Africa executives that he will continue to work with them because he has witnessed their good work. Mr Kikwete called upon various stakeholders to contribute to the organisation because it was doing a great job - not only for bringing social services to the societies in need but also in speaking for Africa.
Other leaders who were honoured for their contributions included the Minister for Health and Social Action of Senegal, Professor Awa Marie Coll- Seck, Ms Toyin Saraki, Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa and Chief Executive Officer of Wari, Mr Kabirou Mbodje.
Over the past five years, Speak Up Africa has made great strides in the fight against child mortality rates due to infectious diseases in Sub- Saharan Africa.
The organisation works with political leaders, celebrities and members of the private sector to catalyse African civil society in the fight against infectious diseases through advocacy, media campaigns and the direct engagement of policy makers.
Daily News
No comments:
Post a Comment