Climate change, resilient health systems take centre stage at Kigali global dialogue

The ongoing Kigali Global Dialogue conference is a unique think tank for leaders to share experiences and solutions as well as provide an occasion to establish new partnerships between countries. This, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta, comes at a time when the world has witnessed economical disruptions due to the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Biruta was speaking at the official opening of the conference which is being hosted by Rwanda Convention Bureau in partnership with the Observer Research Foundation, ORF America. The meeting has brought together participants from over 45 countries. “This is a great occasion to reflect on the critical sustainable development challenges facing our countries today and discuss various opportunities that can be exploited to ensure inclusive economic recovery,” Biruta said. According to Biruta, climate change which affects the world today, particularly developing countries, presents a significant threat to Covid-19 recovery efforts, and also risks reversing development gains if not effectively tackled. “In this regard, it is important that our countries fast track the implementation of policies and strategies. By ensuring that sustainable solutions are part of our pandemic recovery plans we can accelerate the transition to clean power,” he added. Biruta shared similar sentiments with Mohamed Nasheed, speaker of Parliament and former President of Maldives who highlighted that climate vulnerable countries are extremely debt ridden and that they are on the brink of debt default. He shared examples of countries like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal among others whom he expressed concerns that some of the victims were already in default. “You reach a point where you have the debt but no assets, making it hard to earn the money back,” Nasheed added, “This means that we have to give back equity with which equity we give sovereignty.” It is very important that we find development patterns without these kind of indebtedness, he added. In the same light, he added, climate has changed and that the old balance that the planet maintained ‘could’ have already been lost. And with the anticipation that the world is on a tipping point into a new weather pattern, Nasheed urged leaders that, “We need more transition, and more investment.” Resilient health systems Meanwhile, on the health front, Biruta said that the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic exposed huge disparities as well as weaknesses in the global health systems. “Focused attention on building resilient health systems so that our countries are better prepared to prevent, detect, respond and recover from health emergencies is key.” Rwanda this year embarked on the construction of a vaccine manufacturing plant in Kigali in partnership with BioNTech, he said. “The facility will be instrumental in strengthening the health system and prevent eventual diseases not only in Rwanda but on the entire African continent as well.” For Samir Saran, the president of the Observer Research Foundation, when you draw lessons from the pandemic, countries were isolated, communities were quarantined, and global governance was missing in action. “The pandemic was also in a way a big leveler. No big power, no super power but selfish powers dominated the world. Perhaps there is a lesson to spread the capacities in order to respond in unison.”

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Climate change, resilient health systems take centre stage at Kigali global dialogue