AIDF Africa Summit to focus on improving aid delivery in East Africa

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Over 250 government representatives, UN agencies, NGOs, development banks and private sector companies are expected at the event which will focus on how technological innovation and best practices can improve aid delivery and development strategy in East Africa.

Summit agenda

The agenda, developed in consultation with key organisations, features:

• Opening keynote address by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, chairperson of the African Union Commission.

• Mobile innovations for humanitarian and development work, moderated by Christopher Hoffman (World Vision International), with participation from Dr Sharad Sapra (UNICEF), Nada El Marji (Inmarsat), and Frederic Masse (SAP).

• Update on UN procurement principles and process by Beng Teoh, consultant at the procurement unit of the United Nations Economic Commission For Africa (UNECA).

• Humanitarian logistics and supply chain challenges with participation of Rishi Ramrakha, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Eva Mwai, North Star Alliance and Anne Signe Hørstad, Transparency International Norway.

• An update on child and maternal health initiatives and innovations with John Graham, country director of Save the Children as panel moderator and Dr Martina Fuchs (Real Medicine Foundation), Brigitte Dacosta (bioMérieux), and Lena Wahlhed (HemoCue) as participating speakers.

• Outlook on WASH innovations and good practice by Manoj Kumar, country director for Ethiopia at Plan International, Dr Patrick Marcus (Kaercher FUTURETECH) and Dr Samuel Godfrey (UNICEF).

• Keynote speech on supporting and empowering women by Nardos Bekele-Thomas, resident coordinator and representative of UNDP, United Nations Kenya.

• New financing and electronic payment models with Lorenz Wild, Mercy Corps and Silvester O. Kobare of CARE.

• HIV and AIDS Response in the post 2015 Development Agenda, including update on rapid testing solutions and improving access to HIV/AIDS prevention and counselling with participation of Miriam Maluwa of UNAIDS and Julien Pizzuto of Bio-Rad Laboratories.

"We believe that cross-sector collaboration and partnerships across regions are key to more effective aid delivery and development strategy in East Africa. The Summit aims to showcase expertise of different global stakeholders and provide an opportunity for knowledge exchange and networking amongst public, private and civil society stakeholders," says Sonja Ruetzel, event director of the AIDF.