Is Africa prepared for this COVID - 19 war?

They say that, when going to war, we go with what we have and not what we need.

Locally as well there is alot being said about our preparedness for this COVID 19 war or on the whereabouts of our scientists meant to be at front line of this war?

This week the CDC issued an advisory on facemasks; I think we now have 6 things we must & can do to win this war at a personal level:

#DoThe6Challenge:

1.      KEEP a safe social distance

2.      STAY home as much as you can

3.      WASH hands with soap & water often

4.      DAB Cough into your elbow

5.      SICK? Stay home until well or Call ahead (utilize telehealth & medicine delivery services especially for chronic diseases)

6.      COVER! Wear any facemask but preserve N95 masks for healthcare workers

This week we also saw several local manufactures line up to get fast track approvals on quality by KEBS for facemasks, PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) and even ventilators. From self-help groups to giants of days past like Rivatex that was brought to it’s knees by our high appetite for tasteful imported designer garments.

In recent weeks as well, we have seen the global power houses for manufacturing close all exports for COVID related items to save them for their local consumption instead.

If the economic slowdown due to lock-downs persists, the response by these countries will soon affect essential items from imported food for our pedigree pets to chronic medications as currently the plants aren’t manufacturing as fast as we are consuming globally, so the countries may want to preserve further these essential items for their population at that point.

Vision & self discipline begat Self Sufficiency

Most of these countries became self sufficient following the war time recovery efforts by their governments & as the public supported local industries; granted they had to contend with poor quality products in the beginning while they built their R&D; but one thing is for certain, they knew they were paying the price to become self-sufficient & secure the future for their generations.

Now, that may have been different from our ancestors and or even ourselves. For many of us, we may have sacrificed self sufficiency at the alter of ‘cheaper’ or ‘quality’ imports. If I do a poll right now, when was the last time we had local fabric touch our skin? For most of us it would be from our boarding school days when RivaTex was the schools textile brand to have from blankets to shirts - before 'Manhattan' labeled shirts came in 😉 . For another big majority, we wouldn’t even know who or what RivaTex was - yet soon we shall be donning Rivertex branded PPE's.

Personally, I remember the pride we used to have in my boarding school in the early 90’s being in the same town that made our blankets. I imagine it is the same pride that guys who live in Dearborn, Detriot, Boston, Solihull, Wolfsburg have for Ford, GM, General Electric, Landrover or VW respectively housed in their towns. (Pardon me, I love cars, the same applies for any town that hosts a global or regional brand of anything from pizza to pharmaceuticals.)

In Kenya today for example we have a little over 38 local pharmaceutical manufacturers and many more others who can make the much needed PPEs.

The problem is that not many of us, including our policy makers would name one local for every 10 global manufactures they know. When these local enterprises invest to build their capacity, none of us wants to work with, train with or even buy their products - we mostly have termed them 2nd or 3rd rate. On the flip side, turn because of free trade, those that started in the early 20th century have perfected their ways and now importing to us to meet our high preference for 'smoother' brands. The same brands that today, in the thick of this war, cannot return the favour of our loyalty to supply us with life saving items (not out of choice/malice, but circumstances of course). Even with our disposable 'money', we are now, not out of anyone's fault, but of circumstances are a 3rd rate market to their 1st class citizens & of-course their 2nd class pedigree pets (I read that a Tiger at a Bronx zoo became the first animal case to catch the 'rona' in the northern hemisphere)...on a semi lighter/serious note, maybe that vaccine trial thing may not be such a bad idea after all.

So, the hard answer to our headline question for majority of Africa, is that we weren’t really prepared for this war. Because we simply have never invested to grow our capacity for skills & knowledge transfer. We are a nett exporter of both our grey & raw materials while being a nett importer of finished products.

Not even our ‘serikali’s can saidia us' as the local man/woman would say. Since on this, we all petition God to cover us & do our best with what we've got. He always delivers, hopefully as we survive this and we shall not forget & carry our lessons to be more patriotic citizens supporting to build our nation and protecting local innovations & industries as did the citizens of the currently self sufficient nations - during the early 20th century.

Of-course there is great emphasis on the youth, because the next pandemic, 'itatupata hapa hapa tu' as our 3rd President, The Legend & Great Economist would say - at that time, we shall be the new old folks who will be exposed. We now need to balance & save the cake for later; not devouring it all today with our insatiable appetites for the luxury or cheaper imports.

That said, there is the simpler answer that carries great hope: we have a diverse lot of human capital that is skilled & competent to take our capital as consumers to make us self-sufficient in the medium to long term or even in the short term: use the current tools we have to go into this war, both within the private & public sector.

Ours, is to ensure that we do the 6 and be accountable to have those at the front line of this war, go into the it well equipped & protected (not forgetting socio-welfare-economically), for we need them post war & most importantly for them to save many more of us (patriotic, skilled & competent citizens) than projected; so that together we live to develop & see the fruits of our self-sufficiency within our lifetime.

As we brace for the next few weeks, the self-discipline has to start now:

Ask not what the government can do for you; but what we, the people of Kenya can do for ourselves, for we the people are the government.

So, we listen & heed the directives from our representatives in government and most importantly. DO THE 6: KEEP, STAY, WASH, COVER!, DAB, SICK? – this requires no investment but only self-discipline.

P.S. Let's supplement our daily TV series binge watching, with some documentaries on how our favorite global brands built themselves in the 20th Century; after devastating wars or economical or social depressions and lets get inspired to come out of this as a better citizen to ourselves & the future generations.

So, yes there is tonnes of hope!

P.P.S. Saw the CS Health Mutahi Kagwe recognized on a Wall Street Journal Feature on inspiring leaders during this war, hopefully at home; we will realize that self sufficiency also comes by 'We, the people' giving our power to govern to the right leaders like him and the likes of Mukhisa Kituyi, Kivuta Kibwana, Nominated Senator S. Kasanga, Health PS Susan Mochache, tonnes of other leaders in private sector Joshua Oigara, Dr. Amit, Arch. L. Mcharo et al (this list is amazingly long) that are 'too ordinary & technocrats' as put by the WSJ piece on leadership; just about how anyone of us would describe H.E. E. M. Kibaki and wow, what a President that was.

IN CONCLUSION: This is a war, we aren't coming empty handed & we shall go into the said war with what we have; we shall definitely overcome & live to face another war; hopefully having much more sustainability structures at that time.