Africa-Press – Angola. The First Lady of the Republic, Ana Dias Lourenço, pointed out, this Tuesday (15), the commitment to education as the key to the development of African countries.
Ana Dias Lourenço was speaking, via videoconference, at the ninth edition of the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary and celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Merck Foundation, which brings together, in Dubai, First Ladies and allows the sharing of experiences of each one in their respective countries.
He referred to the presentation, in February this year, of his Foundation, Ngana Zenza for Community Development (FDC). He clarified that his foundation intends to act as a driving and mobilizing vehicle in the development of projects that create a strong purpose and can be continued, preserved and replicated for the future of Angola and Angolans.
“We chose the areas of the local economy, rural community development, social protection and solidarity, health, education, culture and the environment so that, in a transversal way and with the communities, we make it possible to improve the living conditions of the beneficiaries “, said.
In the field of Education, he referred to the “Educar a Linda /Educar a Weza” project, an FDC initiative that he considered fundamental because “the commitment to education is key to the development of our countries”.
“I defend girls’ education as a priority area of intervention, because in my view, it is one of the most critical and impacting areas in the empowerment of future and current women. I firmly believe that it is important to invest in girls’ education, as this will transform the our countries and the entire world,” he said.
Our FDC mission, underlined the First Lady, is to provide communities with knowledge and technical and behavioral skills, through their economic and social empowerment. “We therefore want our partners, Foundations, Organizations and Companies to help us implement our Mission through our Values”, she exhorted.
According to Ana Dias Lourenço, in its 2022-2025 strategy, FDC defined as one of its strategic axes the promotion of initiatives, projects and programs in the areas of Health, Education, Environment and Citizenship. In this context, it has the support of experienced partners such as Merck, to support its initiatives.
The appeal, he said, is especially for the field of Health, in which the main objective is to promote health, especially for women and children, through access to basic health care, in general, sexual and reproductive health and education. “For this purpose, we have defined as our main objective, to favor the development of an inclusive education, which considers the different needs and abilities of children, young people and adults”, she said.
The First Lady of the Republic clarified that this is why members of her team are present at the forum, to exchange experiences and deepen cooperation in the field of Education, in particular in the project “Educar a Linda/Educar a Weza” and in the field of Saúde, “where we want to develop a mobile project entitled ‘Tata Uhayele’ (take care of your health, in the national Umbundu language)”.
It is, according to Ana Dias Lourenço, a project that combines creativity and health at the service of the population, through the management of Clinical Cars along the railway line, in the Corridor from Lobito to Luau (Benguela Railway), in a first phase, and then in the other two lines, Moçamedes and Luanda, prioritizing the provision of primary health care to communities in the provinces of Benguela, Huambo, Bié and Moxico, with special emphasis on care for children, adolescents and women.
The ninth edition of the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary and celebration of the 5th anniversary of the Merck Foundation has more than 2,000 participants, in person, in Dubai, and online around the world.
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