"During the UN Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York last September, I had the privilege of participating in an extraordinary Roundtable meeting of African First Ladies that concluded with the signing of a declaration to end maternal and child malnutrition with particular emphasis on the 'first 1000 days in the life of a child from the moment of conception,'" said Congressman Chris Smith, chairman of the House Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Subcommittee, Click here to read Cong. Smith's keynote address on June 15, 2011.

    The two-day conference (click here to see the program of the event), was organized by the Africa Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center and the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. It opened Wednesday, June 15, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.