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Raila vouches for pan-Africanism to beat virus

ODM leader Raila Odinga speaks during a meeting with leaders from the Trade Union Movement on March 12, 2020.
The coronavirus pandemic is not a curse, not a rich man's disease, but it is real.
These were the words of AU envoy Raila Odinga when he pleaded with African nations to take it seriously.
Speaking with SABC on Wednesday, Raila said Africans need to be told the disease is real.
"...it is a disease for everybody both white and black. We need to take it seriously. This thing is affecting our people and It is time to be careful and cautious," he said.
Raila said Kenya needs to increase testing facilities across the country or more people will be infected. "..the mere fact that Kenya is testing 1,000 people per day and getting 45 infections is cause for alarm..Our rates are very high," he said.
But he noted that Kenyans and the whole Africa should believe that the disease can be defeated.
"We will defeat it but after how many causalities? Let us live to tell the story. It is possible and Africa will arise," he said.
Raila further appealed to African leaders to take this as an opportunity to get Africa out of poverty.
"Korea and China did it between the 1970s and today. This must be Africa’s chance. Information on Covid-19 was not properly shared. Even at the last AU meeting in February, Covid-19 was not an issue because the information was just not there," he said.
"However, Africa has responded pretty well to the disease. We are witnessing a Third World War without bombs. The effects will be far reaching. The entire world has come to a standstill."
He said that all African economies are going to be hit hard.
"... which is why we need to start thinking of the post -Covid-19 era. Africa is going to be left on it’s own. We have tended to rely on the external world, for trade," he said.
" That is not possible now and won’t be possible for a long time. We will have to look at intra-Africa trade to minimise effects of future pandemics in the continent."
Raila said it’s time to come up with Africa’s ministers for Health, Agriculture, so that decisions taken at AU summits don’t have to wait till the next Summit.
"They should be implemented by Africa ministers. We have seen Africans now becoming inventors rather than copiers of other people’s technologies," he said.
"Economies are limping on their knees but this gives us opportunity to look at our developmental opportunities. "

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