By ELSIE EYAKUZE

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So, my favourite professionals on earth are doctors — yes, even before teachers and librarians and investigative journalists — because they do that healing thing.

Clinicians especially, the ones who are portrayed wearing the stereotypical white coat and touch our diseased bodies and wonky cattle and sick pets with the intent of keeping us biologicals in good health.

Knowing what I know about the profession, it is a blessing that my difficulty with STEM naturally prevents me from the temptations of going into it. I can do some guilt-free fangirling without ever going beyond the stresses of a waiting room for an appointment.

THE GOOD WORK DOCTORS DO

Every flavour of doctor is super cool, but the ones who work with expectant mothers and children are my favourites (obstetricians, gynaecologists and paediatricians). I love them.

Then there is the warrior class of doctors who go into danger zones to fix people and health systems after disaster strikes, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. They may be supported by the "prevention is better than cure" ethos, but someone has to treat Ebola patients when policies cannot, ahem, STEM the tide.

Which brings me to the subject at hand. There is Ebola in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo right now, skipping its way merrily along like haemorrhagic fevers are wont to do.

Right now, Rwanda has the means and the practices to keep it away. But guess who doesn't? For sure Tanzania. In fact, Tanzania has failed in the past six months to acknowledge, let alone address, an outbreak of dengue fever that has cost more lives than it should. As a survivor of the fever, I would not wish it on my worst enemy and I grieve the lives lost. It is a manageable disease and we chose not to manage it.

ACROSS POROUS BORDERS

Now, imagine if Ebola slithers through the border into Uganda and makes it into northern Tanzania. And then Kenya. Take your time. There is nothing like a little fear to tickle your social conscience, eh? Your children. Your friends. Your elderly parents. You.

We are encouraging open borders and free trade in the East African Community, which everyone should support with no reservations. But the good will come with risks, why don't we talk about that?

EAC fans get all verklempt when I don't directly support their “vision” of a Federation in the next few years. As entertaining as the theatre of modern pan-Africanism is, it distracts us from the work of constructing strong institutions and investing resources to make unity more than just a feverish dream dreamt up by men in overpriced clothing.

You all know how endless and porous DRC borders are, and how they are perpetually on the receiving end of our rapacious greed? Well, that needs to stop. But by that, I don't mean more guns. I mean more medical staff first, and more information for the literate folk.

When our language about regionalism changes to something tangibly and ambitiously positive, I think I might sign on. Until then, stay healthy, pray for us all and give all doctors a good firm handshake and a smile of gratitude.

Elsie Eyakuze is a consultant and blogger for The Mikocheni Report. E-mail: [email protected]