By Haruna Gimba
The United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon will leave New York tomorrow on a three- day visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend the 26th session of the African Union Summit.
According to the UN Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the Secretary-General will be accompanied by Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kyung-Wha Kang. The statement added that on the margins of the AU Summit, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon will advocate for additional support to those affected by the El Niño-driven drought in Ethiopia.
“The Government and humanitarian partners seek additional funding support to ensure needs are addressed in a timely and appropriate manner,” Malda Nadew said in a statement. The UN chief will on Sunday join Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Demeke Mekonen on a roundtable discussion on the impact of the drought in the country.
The Secretary-General and the Deputy Prime Minister will lead a delegation on a field visit to drought-affected communities in Arsi zone to highlight response programme implementation by the Government, UN Agencies, and NGO partners.
