(As prepared for delivery)
Good Afternoon, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am very pleased to speak at this event marking Africa Day.
In six and a half years as Director General, I have seen African countries make more and more use of nuclear applications for peaceful purposes, for the benefit of ordinary people. This is very encouraging.
Steady progress is being made in using nuclear techniques to increase food production; to irradiate food to boost farm exports; to tackle animal diseases; and to manage water resources.
Around a third of the 30 countries that are considering, or preparing, nuclear power programmes are in Africa.
In the field of cancer control, especially, I have seen real progress.
Some African countries which I visited early in my term of office had a shortage of trained experts. Now, radiation oncologists and medical physicists have returned home after years abroad receiving training, with the support of the Agency.
New equipment for nuclear medicine and radiotherapy is in place. This means more people are getting access to potentially life-saving treatment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On my recent visit to Namibia, I had the honour of meeting the First Lady. She and other African First Ladies have played a leading role in focussing world attention on the issue of cancer control in developing countries.
The scale of the problem is now much better understood. I am proud that the Agency also played a part in making that happen.
Increased awareness is helping to change the way in which global financial institutions approach lending to developing countries. An important part of the Agency’s work is helping countries to prepare bankable documents so they can get loans to build new radiotherapy centres.
Wherever I go, I like to visit cancer treatment centres, as well as veterinary and food laboratories, which cooperate with the IAEA. Some of the labs I have seen look more modern than our own nuclear applications laboratories at Seibersdorf.
This is a reminder to all of us of the huge importance of fully funding the ReNuAL project. I am grateful to African Member States for their active support for ReNuAL, especially to Ambassador Seokolo of South Africa, who has been a tireless co-Chair of the Friends of ReNuAL.
And I thank AFRA countries for their generous contribution to the project.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The willingness of major countries and groups such as China, Japan and the European Union to assist African countries appears to be growing. I have been invited to attend the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development – or TICAD – which will take place in Kenya in August.
I encourage all African countries to make their international partners aware of their keen interest in using nuclear technology for development. This is not always widely known outside the region.
Let me conclude by saying that helping African Member States to achieve their development goals through the use of peaceful nuclear technology is a high priority for the IAEA.
I am grateful for the strong support of African countries for the work of the Agency, and for me personally.
I believe that, together, we are making a real difference to the lives of millions of people on the African continent.
Thank you.