Today was a bit of a rocky second day of the conference. It is understandable to open your conference with political statements about the importance of integration, health systems strengthening, and [insert other buzzword here]. But when you carry on this trend for the entire morning of the second day of the conference, it makes me want to take a vow of conference abstinence. (That is, abstaining from conferences, as opposed to abstaining while at conferences, though both are probably good ideas.) There was one very interesting session, on choice and vulnerabilities, but, woefully, it was supposed to last for 2 hours and was compressed to 45 minutes because we were way behind schedule. (Admittedly, I missed the parallel sessions because I was waiting in line for lunch… so maybe they were fantastic, but I was not able to attend!)
Okay, there were some highlights. Bience Gawanas, the Commissioner for Social Affairs of the African Union Commission, said some provoking things, including emphasizing that we should not always talk about the “harmful cultural practices” of “Africa”, but also about the positive practices. She admitted that sharing the good things wasn’t very lucrative when you’re going to donors begging for money, but “we also need to build a positive image of Africa.” Of course, she’s also one of those rebels who don’t think that the problem is all about a lack of money.