Mr. Chairman, it is always rewarding to come to Abuja, the Federal capital of this great African nation of Nigeria. Abuja has lent its name to a number of important African instruments aimed at strengthening inter-African and regional cooperation and integration in the economic, social and political fields. From the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, to the Declaration of a Moratorium on Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Light Weapons, Abuja has become one of the leading centres for the harmonization of African aspirations and objectives. Today we are here to lay the foundation of another instrument which will morally binding on us African leaders to remove one of the most stubborn impediments to African productivity in our time. Malaria is a health problem.
Malaria is also a human resources problem, and therefore a development problem.
We in Sierra Leone can speak from experience. We know at first hand the debilitating effects of the disease. The anopheles mosquito, the main carrier of the disease, has been one of the most menacing problems in our public health sector for centuries. Malaria is not new to Sierra Leone. We know the toll it has taken on the lives and livelihood of our people.