ACHA || News & Events

ACHA was launched at a cocktail function celebrating the 4th assembly of Africa Humanitarian Action’s (AHA) Board of Trustees (BOT). The event took place at the Sheraton in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. It was the first such assembly of ACHA’s founders since the symposium at which it was proposed was concluded after the 3rd such gathering of AHA’s BOT.

More than 500 international, continental and national stakeholders were invited to the event, which featured an opening address by Chief Olesegun Olusola, Chairman, Africa Refugee Foundation, and the official launch of ACHA, which was introduced by Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, AU Special Envoy to Darfur. Dr. Salim spoke about ACHA’s establishment and challenged attendees to “take action to support ACHA’s valuable work.” Further noting, “Together we can contribute meaningfully to restoring Africa’s ownership of humanitarian efforts and ensure that sustainable solutions are found to the challenges facing the continent.” Click here to read Dr. Salim’s full statement regarding ACHA.

ACHA co-hosts CSO continental conference in advance of the AU summit
January 2008

ACHA co-hosted, along with its colleagues at the Center for Citizens’ Participation in the AU (CCP-AU), the second biannual CSO continental conference in advance of the AU summit. The conference was held on the 23rd and 24th of January 2008 in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia and was entitled: “Citizens’ Continental Conference on the AU Summit.” It followed the first such conference, which took place in Accra, Ghana in July 2007. The conference brought together African CSOs to discuss and provide recommendations and commitments on four key themes: the AU audit, the union government, peace and security, and Economic Partnership Agreements. More than 75 continental organisations were represented. A communiqué was developed throughout the two day meeting and finalised during the last session. ACHA will also co-host the third biannual conference, which will be held in late June in Cairo, Egypt in advance of the next AU summit. To read the full communiqué from the Citizens’ Continental Conference on the African Union Summit click here

ACHA co-hosts CSO training on AU engagement
November 2007

A training for Ethiopian CSOs entitled: “Understanding the African Union and Seizing Opportunities for Change” was co-hosted by ACHA this month, along with international and Ethiopian CSO partners. The training was held on the 8th and 9th of November 2007 and took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The training aimed to reach the following objectives: to establish a better understanding of the African Union (AU), including its key organs and decision making processes; to identify key opportunities to engage the AU as well as the various countries representatives based in Addis Ababa; and to agree on a preliminary strategy to engage in future AU summits. More than 30 Ethiopian CSO representatives attended the training and conference speakers came from across the continent. A steering committee of international and Ethiopian CSOs was formed to spearhead activities leading up to the January 2008 AU summit. Revisit this page in the coming weeks to access a copy of the training report.