On 1st July, 2021, at State House in Lilongwe, Malawi, His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, the President of the Republic of Malawi hosted an African Heads of State Pre-UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue. The Summit Dialogue is part of Africa’s continental momentum towards the UN Food Systems Summit that will be hosted by the UN Secretary General in October 2021.
The event was attended by H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, H.E. Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, H.E. Carlos Agostinho do Rosário, Prime Minister of Mozambique, H.E. Gen. Malik Agar, Representative of The President of Sudan, Hon. Gerardine Mukeshimana, Representative of the President of Rwanda, and Hon. Gaston Dossouhoui, Representative of the President of Benin. In attendance were; Dr. Agnes Kalibata, United Nations Secretary General Special Envoy and President of Alliance for A Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), H.E. Qu Dongyu, Director General, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, and Ms. Leila Mokaddem from the African Development Bank. The meeting was virtual and was telecasted live through the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation, YouTube and 459 delegates from 47 countries joined through the zoom platform.
This Heads of State Pre- UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue mobilized the African voice to respond to the UN Secretary General’s call for collaborative action to generate bold new actions to deliver progress on all the 17 SDGs. The Heads of State Summit deliberated in part on four key focus outcomes of the 2021 UN Food Systems, among which:
- Generate significant action and measurable progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by identifying solutions and leaders, and issuing a call for action at all levels of the food system, including national and local governments, companies and citizens.
- Raise awareness and elevate public discussion about how reforming our food systems can help us all to achieve the SDGs by implementing reforms that are good for people and planet.
- Develop principles to guide governments and other stakeholders looking to leverage their food systems to support the SDGs. These principles will set an optimistic and encouraging vision in which food systems play a central role in building a fairer, more sustainable world. Principles of engagement
- Create a system of follow-up and review to ensure that the Summit’s outcomes continue to drive new actions and progress. This system will allow for the sharing of experiences, lessons and knowledge; it will also measure and analyse the Summit’s impact.
The Heads of State issued a Summit Declaration (see Link).
RUFORUM greatly appreciates the African Heads of State not only for participating in the Pre-UN Food Systems Summit 2021 Dialogue but for all the efforts towards attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa We Want.
Contacts: Name: Evaline Acan; Communications Assistant ; Email: communications@ruforum.org
The RUFORUM Blog 
Leave a comment