Patience Jonathan arrives South Africa for AFLPM meeting

Wife of the president, Dame Patience Jonathan, on Friday, arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, for the 3rd Executive Bureau Meeting of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM).
NAN reports that Mrs Jonathan, who is the President of AFLPM, will preside over the one-day meeting scheduled to hold on Saturday.
However, the agenda of the meeting was not made public.
Other members of the Bureau include first ladies of Congo Brazaville, Cameroun, Sudan and South Africa.
NAN recalls that the second bureau meeting was held in March, where the first lady canvassed for the recognition of the Mission at the UN as an observer.
Under Dame Jonathan’s leadership, AFLPM had been in the forefront of championing the cause of protecting women and children in conflict areas.
AFLPM had also pursued capacity building for women groups, donated relief materials to victims of ‎conflicts in the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Sudan and Niger.
Meanwhile, Patience and her entourage were being hosted to a dinner by President Jacob Zuma.
Established to promote peace and harmony in Africa, AFLPM came into being in 1995 after the International Conference on women in Beijing, China.
The initiative was taken by the first ladies of Nigeria, Gambia, Benin, Uganda, Lesotho and Burundi to undertake a mission of peace to the rest of Africa.
Following series of activities at regional levels, the formal declaration of the mission was made in Harare, Zimbabwe during the OAU Summit in 1996.
The initiative led to the establishment of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) by the then Nigerian First Lady, Mrs Maryam Abacha in collaboration with other African first ladies.