The president of Africa First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM), Aisha Buhari, says donations were made to assist earthquake victims in Turkey and tasked the newly elected head of the AFLPM, Angelina Ndayishimiye, of Burundi to make efforts towards consolidating peace-building on the continent.

She said the AFLPM provided humanitarian support to disaster victims in some countries in need.

“Considering the pressure on first ladies occasioned by the humanitarian crisis in many countries across Africa, the mission embarked on the distribution of educational materials and nutritional food items aimed at supporting their efforts,” stated the Nigerian first lady.

Ms Buhari added, “The items donated include rice books, nutritional packs for malnourished children and other essential commodities as well as supplying 10,000 blankets to victims of earthquake on behalf of the African first ladies in Turkey.”

Ms Ndayishimiye is expected to take over from Ms Buhari as the new AFLPM president on May 29.

Ms Buhari, speaking during the AFLPM 10th General Assembly Summit in Abuja, said the escalating conflicts in most African countries resulted in a serious humanitarian crisis, hence the need for concerted efforts towards peace-building.

The first lady urged the newly elected president to strengthen advocacy towards mitigating the effect of a humanitarian crisis, the negative impact of conflict and its devastating consequences on women and children in Africa.

She said developmental strides have always been a challenge in countries that have witnessed violent conflict and that peace-building efforts “are currently ongoing to find a natural solution to the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where women and children have lived the harsh effects of the conflicts.”

“Another humanitarian window has been exposed with the eruption of violence in Sudan. So all hands must be on deck to ensure that the problem is not allowed to escalate, and we must engage relevant stakeholders to tackle the situation,“ stated Ms Buhari.

(NAN)