Addis Ababa: The 20th Summit of the African Union has begun in Addis Ababa attended by African leadership to discuss on-going conflicts in Africa including the conflicts in Democratic republic of Congo, Somalia, Guinea Bissau Central Africa Republic, border conflicts between Sudan and South Sudan and more recently Mali.
According to Dispatch News Desk (DND), African leaders will also try to seek strategies in order to tackle and reduce child mortality rate in the continent, a hurdle that according to the United Nations Children Fund robs the continent of 1 in every 9 children that are born. Agriculture and food security will also be discussed.
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Kimoon advised the summit to deliberate more on how to reduce poverty. This he says will enable Africa increase the current 5% growth rate that it enjoys.
The chairmanship of the African Union commission has been passed over from President Boni Yayi of Benin to Ethiopia’s premier Hailemariam Dessalegn. President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya also bid farewell to the commission since this is his last term as the president of Kenya and hence as a participant in the summits.The spirit of pan Africanism and the idea of the African Renaissance is what earned Africa the sovereignty that each state enjoys today. This is the same spirit that the continent needs now to propel itself towards an integrated, prosperous Africa that is at peace with itself.
