The New York Times - Voices Being Heard In The African Union: You Never Forget An Elephant

The African Union, for the difficult topics it is having to discuss, is quite a charming committee. From sharing proverbs to self organized voting on which flagships are the 5 main topics, it is evident that in the African Union the vision for 2063 is clear, everyone's voice being heard.

That is not to say there is no frustration overall. After 8 hours of debate the committee landed on areas 5 flagship programs should focus on, broad topics though not exactly tangible in flagship form. These five areas of concern are Peace and Security, Infrastructure, Economy, Education and Healthcare with an aim for overall sustainability.

Not all nations are pleased with the fact that sustainability hasn’t received its own individual area to be focused on, with Morocco being the main proponent of the importance of environment and climate. It is not unusual for sustainability or environment to not be given its own point, nonetheless it is something to take note of. 

“Your Mother Just Died”

During debate to determine which 5 flagships should be chosen, before these five were chosen, the countries in the African Union all had flagships they wished to implement, all had their case to plead. None of these nations however truly hammered it home as clearly as Egypt.

Egypt’s delegation had an explicit aim to make certain that the healthcare situation in the African Union was placed on a pedestal, putting particular emphasis on having one of the flagship programs be in this area. By telling the committee that "Your mother just died" she painted a picture of helplessness when bureaucracy stands in the way of receiving life-saving healthcare for preventable issues. The delegate of Egypt moved to make a point that healthcare isn’t necessarily bad but that the healthcare bureaucracy in Egypt is a nightmare. Vaccines, lack of information. There are a lot of African NGOs on healthcare, although they all spread and without a unified front, persons are unaware of the right place to seek healthcare for their specific problems. To prevent any more mothers from dying and to put the emphasis on a united front in this area is essential. The goal is one giant AU healthcare organizations, all parts of healthcare united for becoming "One step closer to becoming a healthy continent".

Reported by Tracy van der Biezen

The delegation of Egypt