H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf

The well-being of Africa’s women and children is fundamental to the continent we aspire to build under Agenda 2063: an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the world. No society can achieve inclusive growth, shared prosperity, or sustainable transformation while women continue to die from preventable causes during pregnancy and childbirth, newborns are denied a healthy start to life, and children go unprotected against vaccine-preventable diseases.

The appointment of H.E. Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as the African Union Champion for Maternal and Child Health reflects the determination of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government to place maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health at the highest level of Africa’s political and development agenda. Her leadership provides an important opportunity to mobilise collective action, reinforce accountability, and accelerate implementation across all African Union Member States.

By bringing these commitments together within one coherent framework, the Roadmap strengthens policy continuity, reduces fragmentation and provides a practical pathway from continental ambition to country-level results.

Progress will require coordinated leadership beyond the health sector, including finance, education, agriculture and food systems, gender, social protection, infrastructure and local government, alongside the meaningful participation of communities and community-based organisations, women, adolescents and young people, civil society, academia and the private sector. Such a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach is essential to addressing the structural determinants of maternal and child health.

The African Union Commission fully supports the AU MCH Champion’s Agenda and will work with the Government of Tanzania and all other Member States, AU organs, Regional Economic Communities, and partners to mobilise sustainable investment and strengthen implementation. We call upon all stakeholders to align behind African-led priorities, nationally owned plans, and common accountability mechanisms.

The future of our Union depends on the survival, health, and potential of its mothers and children. Through decisive and collective action, this Roadmap can transform our shared commitments into measurable progress and bring us closer to the Africa envisioned in Agenda 2063.