Humanitarian Activities: Chantal Biya Broadens Cooperation

One of the major points of the First Lady’s stay in China was her meeting with Chinese First Lady, Peng Liyuan, with whom she shares same vision for people living with HIV.

The popular adage which says “like forces attract” was seen during the first-ever encounter Cameroon’s First Lady, Chantal Biya, had with the First Lady of the People’s Republic of China, Peng Liyuan, at the just-ended State visit of President Paul Biya to the country. Their encounter was brief but worth more than what any person could ever imagine when it comes to the fight against HIV/AIDS in the world.

The visit therefore was an ideal opportunity for Mrs Chantal Biya, who is UNAIDS Special Ambassador and UNESCO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Education and Social Inclusion to talk with her host, Peng Liyuan, who is also World Health Organisation (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS on how they can commit together to curb the deadly pandemic which is ravaging many young people worldwide. Mrs Biya’s presence in the People’s Republic of China was not meant only to accompany her husband for a State visit.

To her, it also meant using the occasion to expand and create collaborative opportunities when it comes to alleviating poverty and eradicating the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Chantal Biya’s meeting with Peng Liyuan is coming at a time when the First Lady of China has committed to join African First Ladies to combat the HIV pandemic. This was during an Anti-AIDS advocacy event in Johannesburg, South Africa as she joined her husband in a China-Africa Summit.

On the sidelines of the Johannesburg meeting, Peng joined other African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS as a campaigner in fighting the disease, to reaffirm her country’s support to mobilize civil organization, provide funds and support anti-HIV/AIDS work in Africa and elsewhere.

The State visit was not only an ideal moment for Peng Liyuan to have met a faithful partner in the fight against HIV, b...