President Paul Kagame has issued a rallying call to leaders of the world’s major economies at the G20 summit, to continue investing in Africa’s pharmaceutical production, citing that it would restructure the global health architecture. Kagame was speaking during the global health architecture session as part of this year’s G20 summit, underway in Bali, Indonesia. The two-day annual summit kicked off on Tuesday, November 15. “The road towards global health security is long, but essential. What will get us there faster is the political will to put health at the centre of our development agenda, and the recognition that, ultimately, we are all equal.” President Kagame | #G20Indonesia2022 pic.twitter.com/e3s3OfadQt — Presidency | Rwanda (@UrugwiroVillage) November 15, 2022 In his remarks, Kagame recognized that the covid pandemic exposed weaknesses within global health systems. “Almost three years later, the virus is still with us, but the world is making good progress to recover,” he said, before commending Indonesia’s government for launching the pandemic fund, together with partners. “This mechanism will help close the gap in prevention, preparedness and financing,” he asserted. To restructure the global health architecture, however, the head of state said, we need to pay equal attention to all its components. “First, to close the vaccine equity gap, we need to continue investing in pharmaceutical production in Africa, and other developing countries,” Kagame made the observation. Rwanda recently launched the construction of a vaccine manufacturing plant in partnership with German biotechnology firm, BioNTech. The European Union has been very supportive in this regard on our continent, he added. “Second, we would like to see more biomedical research and development partnerships between African scientists and colleagues in the G20.” Kagame went on to add that technology and knowledge transfer is central. For instance, he pointed out, the new pharmaceutical technology foundation, expected to have a permanent office in Kigali, will help Africa gain rapid access to the latest pharmaceutical breakthroughs. The foundation was launched by African Development Bank (AfDB). “This goes hand in hand with building the capacity of public health institutions and investing in medical personnel, including community health workers.” Much as the road towards global health security remains long, Kagame said it was essential, adding that two things are certain. “What will get us there faster is the political will to put health at the center of our development agenda, and the recognition that we are all equal,” he reiterated. Kagame is attending the G20 summit in his capacity as the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee.
