33rd Meeting of AFRA Representatives

The 33rd AFRA Meeting of Representatives was held on September 29 on the margin of the 66th IAEA General Conference. The meeting approved the AFRA Annual Report 2021 as well as the recognition of 4 Regional Designated Centers (RDCs) in Nuclear Instrumentation and one RDC in Postgraduate Training in Radiopharmacy. Addressing the meeting, the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, reiterated his support to AFRA and his personal commitment to enable Africa to achieve the goals it has set for itself, with reference to the African Union's Agenda 2063 "The Africa We Want".  In particular, DG Grossi highlighted the "Rays of Hope" initiative he launched earlier this year with HE Macky Sall, President of Senegal and the champions of Rays of Hope. This initiative aims to improve access to cancer diagnosis and treatment in IAEA Member States.

The IAEA Deputy Director General for Technical cooperation, Hua Liu outlined that the AFRA Programme achieved tangible results in several fields, particularly in human health, food and agriculture, water resources management, sustainable energy development, industrial applications, and nuclear and radiation safety. He added that despite these achievements, many efforts must be made to address the growing global challenges that Africa faces.

The IAEA Deputy Director General for Nuclear Sciences and Applications Ms Najat Moktar in her statement highlighted the IAEA flagship initiatives “ZODIAC, Rays of Hope and NUTEC plastics” and other celebrative points that can make a difference in AFRA countries.

Shaukat Abdulrazak, Director of the IAEA TC Division for Africa in his opening remarks that this meeting is a forum that help to align AFRA’s strategic directions and efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the AFRA regional Programme in Africa.

This 33rd AFRA Representatives Meeting marked the end of Dr Ali Ada's (Niger) term as AFRA Chair and the beginning of the term for Dr Fidèle Ndahayo, CEO of Rwanda Atomic Energy Board, as the new AFRA Chair for one year.

Oscar Meless, PMO, TCAF