Recognizing and Honoring Ambassador Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao for her many accomplishments in the medical field and also for her work in International Relations, working with African Countries on behalf of the United States of America. We welcome her to Philadelphia and we are humbled to have her as the keynote speaker for the African Business Forum of the 42nd Annual ODUNDE Festival.

WHEREAS, Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao has been the African Union Ambassador to the United States of America since December 1, 2016. As the African Union Ambassador to the U.S., Dr. Chihombori-Quao is fully committed to reinforcing the longstanding and deep historic, cultural and economic relations between Africa and the U.S.; and

WHEREAS, She plays a key role in reinforcing the African Union strategic partnerships with the United States, grounded on shared values and mutual interests. Ambassador Chihombori-Quao is a strong believer in the promise that the African Union - U.S. partnership holds and that a prosperous, peaceful and integrated Africa is a shared strategic interest; and

WHEREAS, Nearly 20 years ago, at a conference organized by then Africa Resources, Presidents Nelson Mandela and Robert Mugabe presented Dr. Chihombori-Quao with an Achievement Award, her first major distinction; and

Whereas, Ambassador Chihombori-Quao has since been presented with various awards and accolades including: “African Women of Excellence Award”, “African Diaspora Queen”, “Bridge Builder’s Award”, “African Personality of the Year”, and many more; and

WHEREAS, In September 2013, Dr. Chihombori-Quao was one of four women who represented Africa at the International Conference on Women’s Rights, hosted in Mar Del Plata, Argentina. She delivered a moving speech on the topic, “Violence against Women and its Worldwide Effects”; and

WHEREAS, Ambassador Chihombori-Quao has also been actively involved in various programs and projects of the African Union. Since 2012, she was the Chair of the African Union-African Diaspora Health Initiative (AU-ADHI) where she was involved in mobilizing the African Diaspora health professionals to assist in addressing the healthcare crisis on the continent of Africa; and

WHEREAS, In 2015 at the 25th AU Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dr. Chihombori-Quao was one of the fifteen women who received the “Women of Excellence Award” alongside President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Mrs. Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, and Mrs. Winnie Mandela, the former first lady of South Africa; and

Whereas, Upon graduating from Medical School in 1986, Ambasador Dr. Chihombori-Quao did three years General Surgery at State University of New York in Brooklyn, NY and another residency in Family Medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, USA; and

WHEREAS, Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao was a renowned family medicine doctor in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she has been practicing medicine for the last 25 years. Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao is known internationally for her diligent efforts to improve healthcare systems, particularly in countries in Africa, and to promote women’s rights around the globe; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Chihombori-Quao is a native of Zimbabwe who immigrated to America in 1977. She is also Ghanian by marriage and a proud mother of five children; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby recognizes and honors Ambassador Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao for her many accomplishments in the medical field and also for her work in International Relations, working with African Countries on behalf of the United States of America. We welcome her to Philadelphia and we are humbled to have her as the keynote speaker for the African Business Forum of the 42nd Annual ODUNDE Festival.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented Ambassador Chihombori-Quao as a sincere expression of the Council of the City of Philadelphia’s gratitude, admiration and recognition.

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