Pan-African Movement-Rwanda Chapter (PAM-Rwanda) on Monday kicked off a week-long sensitisation campaign leading to the celebration of the African Liberation Day that is slated on May 25. During the week, different activities including media talk shows raising awareness on food security, nutritious foods and climate change, background of African Liberation Day, and community outreach activities through Umuganda will be carried out, according to Protais Musoni, chairperson of PAM-Rwanda. The activities organised by PAM-Rwanda in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, will run under the theme: Building Resilient and Inclusive African food systems, tackling challenges of nutrition and climate change. During a media briefing held on Monday, Musoni said that Africans and people of African descent and friends should celebrate the progress the continent has made towards total liberation including achieving political and economic independence. However, he said that it is also an opportunity to highlight the challenges still affecting Africans that need to be addressed for Africa to be fully liberated. “The fight against hunger is one of the battles Africa has been losing; every year, additional millions of Africans go hungry, food importation is on increase, and malnutrition remains endemic. As we celebrate what we have achieved, Africans need to earnestly reflect on how a continent that possesses the largest fertile arable land cannot feed itself,” he said. Chantal Ingabire, the Director General for Planning at the Ministry of Agriculture, also told the media that tackling challenges of nutrition and climate change is part of Rwanda’s liberation journey. She added that there are still gaps to fill in Rwanda’s agriculture sector, different measures including building resilient and inclusive food systems, which she said are the key tool to defeat hunger on the continent. Ingabire also challenged the youth to get involved in the agriculture sector, urging more young players to be part of Rwandan youth in AgriBusiness Forum (RYAF), a platform established to bring together different youth organizations in Rwanda. The African Liberation Day originates from the May 25, 1963 event, when 31 African Heads of State convened a summit to found the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). They called the day African Freedom Day but it was later to be renamed African Day. The national celebrations will take place at Ubumwe Grande Hotel in Kigali on Wednesday, May 25.
