The 4th General Assembly of the National Coalition for Women against HIV/AIDS held in Awash Sebat, Afar Region.

The National Coalition for Women against HIV/AIDS organizes its General Assembly biennially to assess the achievements, opportunities and challenges it encounters to achieve its objectives. With this premise, the Coalition organized its 4th General Assembly from January 2nd to January 3rd, 2010 in Awash Sebat City, Afar Region.

The main agendas of the meeting were the following:

• Nomination and appointment of  new board members who will take the leadership of the Coalition for the next four years;
• Discussion and approval of the newly revised Article of Association of the Coalition based on the governments new legislation related to charities and societies act;
• Assessment of the past two years, and outlining accomplishments, challenges and opportunities of the Coalition; and
• Discussion and approval of the draft membership contribution manual of the Coalition;

The meeting brought together approximately 180 participants from regional Coalitions, board members, donors and other stakeholders. This General Assembly was taken to be unique from the previous three General Assemblies, because it coincided with the commemoration of the first year of the Declaration of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) as “Haram” or a forbidden practice in Afar Region.

In this biennial gathering, new capable and credible board members that will lead the Coalition for the coming four years were nominated.  The new board members of the Coalition are:

1. H.E W/ro Azeb Mesfin- Chairperson
2. H.E W/ro Aster Mamo- Vice Chairperson
3. H.E W/ro Zenebu Tadesse- Secretary
4. H.E W/ro Netsanet Asfaw- Member
5. H.E W/ro Gifty Abassiya- Member
6. Dr. Tsehaynesh Mesele- Member
7. Honorable W/ro Fatuma Abdella- Member

During the General Assembly:

• The new Article of Association based on the new legislation of the government was discussed and approved;
• The participants reviewed the Coalition performance, opportunities and challenges it encountered during the previous two years;
• The new logo of the Coalition was interpreted and approved by the participants.

This meeting has assisted the board members and members of the Coalition - who implement the programmes of the Coalition at various levels - to renew their commitment and also clearly identify and expand their understanding on directions, policy guidelines, and program elements of the Coalition.

All those who were present acknowledged the contributions of the Coalition and committed themselves to support future activities. In particular, the Coalition’s contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS and harmful traditional practices within the overall framework to promote gender equality in Ethiopia was stressed. Accordingly, they unanimously promised to support and collaborate with the Coalition through technical and financial support.