Ghana’s First Lady, Mrs Lordina Mahama has been elected as the new President of the Organisation of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) at the 15^th Ordinary General Assembly of OAFLA in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The First Lady, at the OAFLA conference organized at the sidelines of the AU conference, beat four others including Nigeria in the keenly contested polls to emerge the winner. She will serve a two year term of office.

She took over from the First Lady of Chad, Hilda Itno Derby who congratulated her for working so hard for Ghana in particular and the continent as a whole.

The First Lady of Malawi also clinched the Vice president title and pledged to assist Mrs Mahama in all her endeavours to raise the flag of OAFLA very high.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs Mahama expressed her appreciation to the organization for the vote of confidence and the honor repose in her by electing her as the new president.

She said as a founding member of OAFLA Ghana is fully committed to the mission and vision of the organization.

Mrs Mahama, who is expected to be sworn into office in July this year at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, called on all African First Ladies to support her in order to move the organization to higher levels.

“In my own work as the First Lady and OAFLA representative for West Africa for the past two years I have ensured that my priorities revolved around attaining the objectives of our strategic plan of reversing the trends of HIV and AIDS, eliminating mother to child transmission”, she said.

The First Lady said part of the strategic plan was also to empower women and their partners as well as advocating for a comprehensive and integrated sexual and reproductive health services towards maternal mortality.

Mrs Mahama has the firm belief that if all First Ladies could ensure the health of their women and empower them economically, the future of Africa would be secured.

She pledged to work fervently as the president of OAFLA.

The Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS has come a long way since its establishment in 2002 by 37 African First Ladies as a mere collective voice of Africa’s most vulnerable people.

Today OAFLA has more than forty (40) African First Ladies as active members, each leading their national chapters to do exemplary work in the areas of HIV/AIDS, empowering women and children.  OAFLA is administered by a Permanent Secretariat in Addis Ababa, with the oversight of a Steering Committee.