Luanda, 27 May (ANGOP) – The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, leads the working sessions of the African Union (AU) Summit on Humanitarian Issues and Donors, which began on Friday morning in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
The high-level meeting was due to be led by Senegal’s Head of State, Macky Sall, in his capacity as Chairperson of the African Union, but Sall had to return to his country due to a tragedy that occurred in a maternity hospital in the capital, Dakar, where a fire killed several new-born babies.
President Lourenço has been in Malabo since Thursday. Angola holds one of the vice-presidencies of the Bureau of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.
The problem of humanitarian crises in Africa is being analyzed at a time when there are an estimated 113 million people in need of humanitarian assistance on the continent, 48 million of whom are refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people.
Given its importance, the Special Summit is expected to provide space for African leaders and international donors to examine the issue of fund mobilization.
AU data indicate that humanitarian needs are increasing rapidly in Africa, mainly due to conflicts and climate shocks, with over 30 million people expected to be internally displaced as a result of inter-community conflicts and food insecurity.
