If Biashara Africa (Trade Africa) African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) forum, in Kigali, had high expectations for what the two day meeting might achieve, the addresses declaring the meeting open, which it would not be overstating it to describe as momentus, set the benchmark even higher.
It does not take a clairvoyant to devine that co-host of Biashara Africa, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame’s address, short and to the point, will be one of thoses speeches, that will become the mainstay of social media.
Among those who preceded President Kagame, was Director-General of Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Dr Jean Kaseya. He had intended to join everyone to celebrate the signing of the AfCFTA, which he said, “was conceived as a strategic moment to rethink the future of Africa, and the way to unlock intra-Africa trade.”
But he had decided to put aside his prepared speech, he said, “to address a major issue, the link between trade and health.” The decision was prompted by the level 3 travel notice, that the United Status of America (USA), issued for anyone considering travel to Rwanda, which, for the last two weeks or so, has been battling the first ever, Mrburg outbreak. A level 3 travel notice advises against all but non essential travel.
This, noted Dr Kaseya, was inappropriate. “I challenged them. I told them yesterday, that this decision is unfair. It is unacceptable, expecially for a country that is doing more than all of us are doing, including the US. Let me reassure you, that this decision is not evidence based…because what I have seen in Rwanda, since I landed, even before I landed, I am just impressed. There is nothing more that could be done, that Rwanda is not doing.”
“Rwanda is making us proud, as Africans. I am proud, as Direct-General of Africa CDC, to say that Rwanda, is a school for all of us, on the way to manage this kind of outbreak.”
And he had a broader point, a challenge for the AfCFTA: “but let me also say, we are tired. Tired that every time there is an outbreak, we are in panic mode, because we need to start to beg the world for vaccines, drugs, diagnostics. It was the case for Mpox, it was the case bofore for Covid, and it’s still the case for Marburg.”
“Let us take a strong decision today, under the leadership of President Kagame, who is also our champion for domestic financing…I also wanted to meet President Ruto, who is the champion for local manufacturing, to say, from today, we need to start manufacturing all our medical countermeasures in Africa.”
A start has already been made, he said. There was already a transfer of the prerequisite technology for the manufacture of vaccines for Mpox, and there is a similar transfer of technology, for Marburg in Rwanda, where the CDC is working with the Rwanda authorities. By the end of the month, he said, he will be back in the country to see progress, but “I requested my senior officials in US, who were talking with me yesterday, to be with me in Rwanda. We need to do our best, to lift the status [level 3 travel notice] by the end of October,” he said.
“Because we believe that this one is breaking trade, is breaking the economy. You don’t know the number of colleagues and friends, who cancelled their trips, because they are just afraid, not to go back to the US, and we cannot accept it that.”
Addressing himself directly to President Kagame, he told him that whether it was himself, the representatives of the African Union (AU), the Secretary-General of the AfCfTA, were in Rwanda, because he wanted them to be there. “And you can rest assured” he added, “that we’ll do everything possible to move Rwanda out of this outbreak, but also to strengthen health systems in Africa, by manufacturing our medical counter measures.”
It was an unequivocal commitment of unwavering support, to which the Rwanda head of state responded with characteristically sincere gratitude.
Talking about the Marburg virus, following Dr Kesaya’s remarks, President Kagame, thanked everyone for being in Rwanda, wrily observing that, “it took someone amount of courage, to proceed to head to Kigali, from wherever you were, because of what my friend Dr Kaseya said, of the virus that has been going around, but well controlled…”
There was a bit of panic, he said, but generously added that, “you can’t entirely blame people. “I want to thank you, all of you, for being here today. I want to assure you that Rwanda, is doing whatever we can, to contain and control this virus, but our best cannot amount to anything without the solidarity and support, we have enjoyed, from Africa CDC and other partners…”
Ironically, among the partners to who President Kagame expressed his gratitude, not only today, but on several occasions before today, are many in the US, who are more than aware of how efficiently, and successfully, Rwanda has responded to the Marburg virus.
It makes the US travel notice, to which Dr Kaseya objeced so strongly, all the more puzzling.
