As part of the structuring of our development policies in Africa, we were honored to be received by H.E. Sen Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady of Nigeria, together with the African Paralympic Committee. The ceremony on November 15th last year highlighted the regional components of our two federations (IPC and IBSA).

During this event, H.E. Sen Oluremi Tinubu was awarded a distinction, designating her as the African Grand Patron of Sports for people with disabilities. This initiative aims to give her the role of ambassador, in order to encourage other First Ladies from African countries to support the development of sports for people with disabilities in their respective countries.

Our ambitions in Africa are multiple: to enable a greater number of visually impaired people to thrive through the sport of their choice, to increase the number of our members in Africa by supporting national development strategies, as well as to build meaningful partnerships on this continent.

The achievement of these objectives could be greatly facilitated by the involvement of the highest national authorities. We also want to set up a resource area in Africa (IBSA regional office) to support the national inclusive policies of our members.

Our commitment to Africa is justified not only by the fact that this continent is now home to the vast majority of the world’s visually impaired population, but also by the will shown by our President, since his election, to make Africa one of our priorities in terms of territorial deployment.

We remain resolutely committed to this path in order to continue working towards these goals.

Toussaint Akpweh
IBSA Africa Chairperson