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::Snetter Attends Summit of ABMP in Kenya….

The Director General of the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) Mr. Charles A. Snetter, Jr, is calling for concerted efforts to fight the deadly disease HIV /AIDS which has been taking a great toll of human lives since its discovery a few years ago.

“Unless all of us put our shoulders to the wheel and buttress efforts of various organizations which are concerned with the disease, we as human beings may become extinct.”

Mr. Snetter spoke to the press shortly upon his return from Nairobi, Kenya, where he had been attending the Third Executive Summit of African Broadcast Media Partnership against HIV/AIDS; it ran for two days from September 4-5, 2007.

Mr. Snetter described the summit very fruitful and has broadened the horizons of participants from more than thirty African countries and representing their respective institutions. While in Nairobi Mr. Snetter also attended the African Union of Broadcasters First General Assembly. He said that both meetings have given them a broad spectrum about the killer disease HIV/AIDS. He promised that with the knowledge, which he and his colleagues have acquired, they will help to further promote the aims and objectives of the African Broadcast Media Partnership Against HIV/AIDS through their airwaves. He calls for massive HIV/AIDS awareness programs throughout Liberia warning, especially teenagers, who are sexually active, to be very careful in their sexual pursuits.

The summit discussed various topics pertaining to the mandate of the steering committee among which were prioritizing the goals and objectives of the partnership; develop and oversee the implementation of programs designed to ensure increased HIV/AIDS related messages and contents across all genders; promote strategies for integration and prioritization of HIV/AIDS in partners’ business strategies, budgets and programming schedules; establishment of a monitorizing mechanism and a benchmark to assess partners’ achievements; seek to increase membership and it’s goals by the African Union; develop and implement plans to attract additional funding, based on the principle of co- investment from in-country resources.

The summit was addressed by several prominent individuals among who was Dr. Wangari Maathai, who served as Keynote speaker. Dr. Maathai is founder of the Gree Belt Movement, an environmentalist, a civil society and women’s rights activist, a parliamentarian and a Nobel Peace Prize winner. She was the first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a Doctorate Degree. She Holds a Masters of Sciences and Doctorate Degree in Anatomy.

Professor Maathai was the first woman from Africa to be honored with a Nobel Peace Prize and also first African from a vast area between South Africa and Egypt to be awarded the Peace Prize.

Dr. Maathai introduced her tree planting concept in 1996 the result of which is the Green Belt Movement with a focus on helping women groups plant trees to conserve the environment and improve the quality of life. She has helped women plant trees on their farms, on school campuses and church compounds. She is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She has served on the UN Commission for global governance and the commission on the Furture.

The Kenyan renowned environmentalist is listed in UN Environment Program Global 500 Hall of Fame in 2005 and was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In December 2002, she was selected to Kenya’s Parliament and was subsequently appointed by her country’s President as Assistant Minister for the Environment. At present she is presiding officer of Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union. | Archive Version