Forum for Democratic Change has expressed gratitude to UN Secretary General for selecting a party member Winnie Byanyima to head UNAIDS, an important role of leading a global response to HIV pandemic.
Describing Byanyima as a “woman of firsts” FDC secretary general Hon. Nandala Mafabi is optimistic she will execute her duties with precision basing on her wealthy experience and commitment she displayed while serving as OXFAM head.
However, Mafabi in his emotional statement while congratulating Byanyima said as a founding member, FDC misses her voice in the political struggle and the fight for justice and equal opportunities.
“As a non-partisan senior UN official, we will miss Winnie’s voice in our political struggle, but we count on Winnie to remain true to FDC values and to fight on for a just world where all have an equal chance to live in dignity,” Mafabi wrote.
Winnie Byanyima is wife to Col. Kizza Besigye, the founder of FDC and most powerful opposition icon in Uganda.
Full Statement
The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) congratulates Winnie Byanyima on her appointment to the important role of leading the global response to HIV pandemic.
From a list of several hundred applicants and after of round of competitive interviews, consultations with governments and other stakeholders, three names were presented to the UN Secretary General to select from.
FDC is very pleased and not surprised that Winnie emerged the successful candidate from such a robust process. A woman of many firsts, Winnie will be the first woman to lead UNAIDS, and rightly so, as HIV is most prevalent in Africa and has a disproportionate effect on African women and girls.
Having served as a diplomat, a member of parliament, an official of the African Union and UNDP and most recently as head of Oxfam, one of the largest global development organisations, Winnie will bring to the role of wealth of experience in leveraging the power of governments, multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society to solve development challenges.
A passionate feminist, Winnie is a respected leader in the global and African women’s movements.
She has championed women’s rights and human rights throughout her career, and we can expect her to forcefully address the power inequalities that drive the epidemic.
We recognise Winnie’s leadership and contribution to our party. Winnie is a founder member of the FDC and an activist who has remained true to the values for which FDC was founded. As a non-partisan senior UN official, we will miss Winnie’s voice in our political struggle, but we count on Winnie to remain true to FDC values and to fight on for a just world where all have an equal chance to live in dignity. We ore proud that a member of our party, FDC, has been appointed to a senior position in the UN system and thank the government for giving a no objection to her candidature.
FDC hopes that the NRM government will continue to support all qualified Ugandans to serve in international organisations, and government departments in Uganda as Uganda belongs to all of us.