Official Statement
Workneh Gebeyehu, IGAD Executive Secretary PREPARE Project Risk Management Training Workshop Maanzoni Kenya, 23rd April 2025
- Distinguished Representatives from our Member States,
- Partners from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),
- The team from Kenya Factors,
- My dear IGAD colleagues,
- Ladies and Gentlemen,
- (On behalf of His Excellency the Executive Secretary,) I am truly delighted to see all you all here today as we begin this three-day learning on risk management for our PREPARE project. You know, as I was on my way, I couldn’t help but reflect on how far we have come and yet how vulnerable our region remains.
- I was reminded of a quote from the poet Maya Angelou who once told a graduating class that “hope and fear cannot occupy the same space.” And today, looking at this room full of dedicated professionals, I choose hope. Not blind optimism, mind you, but hope grounded in preparation for PREPARE, in foresight, and in our shared commitment to protect our communities.
- We all lived through COVID, together did we not? Over 6.7 million souls lost worldwide: fathers, mothers, breadwinners and above all, healers. And here at home, we’ve faced our own trials. Remember Uganda’s battle with Ebola in 2022? 142 cases, 55 precious lives lost.
- Or last year’s cholera outbreaks that swept through Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, over 3,000 cases reported, though we know the actual numbers were likely higher. And now Mpox and Marburg have emerged as unwelcome visitors to our regional home. Each of these outbreaks tells its own story, not of statistics, but of families torn apart and communities left damaged.
- These diseases, they are making a mockery of our borders, are they not? When Rift Valley Fever hit us in 2018, affecting thousands across the Horn, it did not stop for an immigration check, customs or passport control.
- It moved unchecked through our pastoral communities, taking both human lives and livestock. And though not a disease, we all remember how the desert locusts of 2019 to 2021 showed us what cross-border crises really mean, 25 million of our people faced hunger because insects do not recognize boundaries drawn on maps.
- I have spent a long time reflecting on this, and I have come to be convinced that our security, our health security rests on three things: how well we work together across borders, how effectively our different sectors communicate with each other, and how intelligently we manage our risks.
- That’s why the PREPARE project matters so deeply to us all. With the Pandemic Fund’s support, we’re not just implementing another project, we are building systems that recognise and build on our inter-connectedness. When we talk about “mitigating epidemic impacts through integrated cross-border systems and One Health approaches,” these are not just words on paper, they represent our people’s right to health and safety.
9. This work is not happening in isolation, it feeds directly into the vision we ahare with our colleagues at Africa CDC and the New Public Health Order. It supports the WHO’s regulations that we’ve all committed to and that new Pandemic Accord that’s been making headlines. And when the African Union talks about Agenda 2063 and its vision of a healthy Africa, it is also talking about us. This fortress of health is what we are building, brick by brick.
Dear Colleagues,
- I don’t see risk management as a dry, technical, and academic exercise; it makes isthe difference between programs that survive crises and those that collapse under pressure. It’s like what our wise old people used to say “The wise farmer checks his fences before the rains come.” Or as the foremost scholar in uncertainty, Nassim Nicholas Taleb put it, “We cannot truly plan for the future, but we can build institutions that aren’t fragile when the unexpected happens.”
- And that is what the next three days are about. Across our seven member states, the PREPARE project is already taking shape. But its success depends on our ability to spot trouble before it arrives, to measure it accurately, to minimize its impact, and to keep a watchful eye as we proceed.
- The economics are clear, though I suspect you already know them. The World Bank tells us that pandemic preparedness costs roughly 1.69 us dollsrs per person each year. But what about response? That costs hundreds, even thousands of times more.
- COVID-19 alone cost our region over 4.8 billion dollars in lost GDP in 2020. Just think about that for a moment; what could our nations have done with those resources? The number of schools built, hospitals equipped, roads constructed and so on….
- So as we roll up your sleeves over these next 3 days, I have three corresponding requests.First; let us remember to bring our whole selves to the table. Whether you come from health, agriculture, environment, or another sector, your perspective matters. One Health isn’t just a buzzword, it is recognising that the health of our people is tied to the health of every other aspect of our lives.Second; let us surrender our institutional badges and positions at the door. The pathogens don’t care which ministry or institution any one of us work for, and neither should we when tackling these challenges.And Third, please, always keep in mind the faces of those we serve. Especially our brothers and sisters in cross-border areas and those nomadic communities who are so often the last to receive help but the first to face these threats.
- Before I conclude, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to the organisers and supporters of this meeting. The WHO Pandemic Fund, your investment in our region is an investment in global health security. To our partners at IFRC, your experience in community engagement is invaluable. To Kenya Factors, thank you for guiding us through this crucial learning process. And to each of you my IGAD colleagues, thank you for the late nights, the difficult field visits, and your unwavering commitment.
- There is a proverb that has now become symbolic of our continent: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Because our people deserve nothing less, the beauty of what we’re building is that we can do both; move with urgency while travelling the distance.
- With those few remarks, I am pleased to declare this Risk Management Training Workshop officially open. I look forward to hearing our discussions and review our conclusions. Asanteni sana.
