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Adv. Bience P. Gawanas, Former African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs
“CARMMA demonstrates that the AU is not just into governance and issues of conflict, but also values maternal and child survival. That is the spirit. It is not for us to wait for someone to come and solve our problems.” |
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Dr. Babatunde Oshotimehin, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
"CARMMA is a mark of the new determination across Africa to remove obstacles to progress, that we are seeing a major drive to end this unnecessary death toll." |
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Fmr. President Rupiah Bwezani of Zambia
“Pregnancy is not a disease but a normal and healthy part of human life. Maternal deaths could be prevented if women have access to quality family planning services and skilled care during pregnancy and childbirth.” |
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H. E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
“Women constitute more than 50% of the continent's population and their engagement in all spheres of human endeavor is imperative. Africa has an unacceptable high maternal and infant mortality. What women in other countries – especially in the developed world - take for granted as a normal physiological function of giving birth and ensuring the continuation of the human race, in our continent, it means putting your life at risk. The death of the mother is not just a death of an individual. It means survival of the young children that she may be leaving behind is not guaranteed, and if they survive, they may not reach their full potential in life. And of course a loss of a mother is a loss to the family and the community.” |
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H.E Mrs. Hinda Deby Itno, First Lady of the Republic of Chad
“We are grateful to the AUC for launching this initiative to carry out the MDGs related to maternal and child health. Maternal health is a major concern of the international community and Chad is classified among the 9 countries most affected by this tragedy. We are poised to internalize the objectives of CARMMA and translate them at national level following the roadmap.” |
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H.E. Mr Youssouf Saleh Abbas, Fmr. Prime Minister of the Republic of Chad
“Women have the same rights as men and we will continue to pursue policies and actions aimed at achieving gender equality and the improvement of maternal and child health, as well as the health of all other vulnerable sectors of society.” |
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H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
“The fact remains that one preventable maternal death is too many: hundreds of thousands are simply unacceptable.” |
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H.E. Mr. Thomas Boni Yayi, President of the Republic of Benin and Former Chair of the African Union
“One of the major challenges our countries are still faced with is the heavy burden of maternal and infant mortality. You will therefore understand the great importance that the African Union gives to the CARMMA, mainly designed to end the tragedy of high maternal mortality. It aims to strengthen the leadership and the commitment of political leaders in order to mobilize the resources and means required to significantly reduce the maternal and infant mortality at the country, region and continent levels.” |
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H.E. Mrs. Jeannette Kagame - The First Lady of Rwanda
“A seed (CARMMA) has just been planted…. It is now the task of each African nation to water and nurture this seed so that all mothers and babies can have what they deserve: Life!" |
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H.E. Mrs. Joyce Banda, President of the Republic of Malawi
"it's not just about family planning and giving access to contraception; it's about empowering women and giving them the economic freedom so they can choose and make decisions about the size of their family..." |
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H.E. Mrs. Sia Nyama Koroma - The First Lady of Sierra Leone
“The death of a child during birth should be considered by every stake holder to be a crisis. We can no longer afford to sit and watch our women and children die of health conditions which are preventable. Now is the time for more concerted efforts and greater action.” |
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Honorable Thokozani Khupe, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe
“The success of this campaign relies on commitment and support from everybody. The reduction of maternal mortality is very important; if it is reduced, then it acts as a catalyst for the reduction of other indicators like child mortality, which are unacceptably high. “We need to invest heavily in women because a great chunk of the world’s GDP comes from their unpaid work.”
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