Stimulus packages, she said, were being created to reduce the number of women and girls living in poverty.
She called for global unity, saying that countries are intertwined in their goals and that multilateralism must prevail in the face of COVID-19.
“Unilateralism will not get us anywhere when it comes to challenges that transcend our national boundaries. A wise person said, and I quote, ‘Alone, one will go faster, but together, we will go far’.”
Meeting with UN Secretary-General
During her time in New York, Ms. Suluhu also held a meeting with the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, during which they discussed peace and security challenges in the region.
The Secretary-General welcomed the recent significant policy shifts in Tanzania, including on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. He reiterated the UN’s support to Tanzania in its effort to achieve Agenda 2030.
Other female presidents
Although most African countries joined the UN in the 1960s soon after they attained independence, with a few joining earlier than that or later, it wasn’t until 2006 that the first African female Head of State, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, addressed the UN General Assembly.
Currently, the 54 African member states of the UN make up to 28% of its overall membership. Before 2006, only male heads of State and governments had addressed the General Assembly.
Other African female heads of State that followed were Joyce Hilda Banda of Malawi in 2012, Catherine Samba-Panza of the Central African Republic in 2014, and most recently, Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia in 2019.