Koami Nkouka is the founder and CEO of Health Education for All, a non-profit education based in Denver, Colorado, United States of America. The Togolese national is a trained engineer and global advocate of ‘no child should be left behind’ in accessing qualitative education and health care services, especially in Africa. On the side line of the ongoing Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Washington DC, Nkuoka, in this interview with Funke Olaode, talked about various issues affecting education in Africa and why all hands must be on deck to ensure that continent is not lagging behind
Tell us about yourself and why you are so passionate about education through Health Education for All (HETA), in spite of the fact that you live in a developed world that has seen it all in terms of education and good health care services.
My name is Koami Nkouka, and I am a native of Togo in West Africa. I live in the United States of America, precisely in Denver, Colorado, since 2005. I am passionate about education as an African who has enjoyed a good education in America. I come from Africa. But I still want to do something for my continent. And also the country that hosts me here in the United States of America. So, the idea came in 2020/2021 to give something back to nature. So that is why the idea of what we want to have in the education and health sectors. In education, we want to encourage young folks to embrace STEM which is Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. And in terms of health, we want everybody to have access to good health. Because as you can see now, even in the United States, everyone has access to the health care system. It’s a big debate anytime there is a presidential election. So we want to close that gap and make sure everybody has free access or at least access to health.
What are some of the key initiatives that you have seen here that you would want replicated back in Africa? The United Nations wants a standard for budgeting for health and education. Africa has yet to achieve all of that. What would you say? Where are we?
Thank you. It seems like you’re reading my mind. I have seen it because I went to school here. I got my bachelor’s in civil engineering and masters in project management. So, I know the education system in the United States very well. And I would like to bring a lot of stuff in terms of education. For instance, when you go to some villages in Africa, kids have to walk miles before getting to school, and they get tired. So there is no transportation, there is no school bus. And also I realised that here in the United States, in every county, they have elementary school, middle school and high school in the same place.
But that is not the case in some of the villages or countries in Africa. So that will help a lot. And another thing too, when kids go to school, they don’t have money. They cannot eat during the recreation time. But as you know, the brain needs food. So some kids drop out of school because of that. Because the parent doesn’t have money to give to them. But here in the United States, it is clear, no child is left behind. And when you go to school, there is a cafeteria. Whether you are poor or rich, it is open to everybody to go and eat. I think that will help a lot. And I know the World Bank has piloted a project like that in some of the African countries. In a way, the government is encouraging pupils to enrol in schools. It will be good to extend that project all across Africa.
Budgeting for education and health is still a challenge in Africa. What should the government be doing?
Yes, I do agree with you without going too much into the political field, as we are here, we want to come and talk to the stakeholders of the World Bank and the IMF about what they can do because one of the World Bank’s objectives is to eradicate poverty in the world. So we want to see how, as a non-profit organisation, we can help them. We can go hand in hand with them and try to eliminate poverty in Africa. And also, as you say in the budget, yes, the budget is always the challenging part. But I think we will achieve it without going to the political field.
You mentioned STEM education. Developed countries rely on science and technology for their national development. How can African governments encourage STEM education so that it can take the continent to the next level?
Yes, that is a good question. What I learned from here is that you might not like it, but in the United States of America, there is not a government that does everything. So the government plays the role of ‘police’. Let me give you a little example. When you live in some area, the people in that area have meetings once a month, like parents of students. They define what is good for their kids and establish the standard they want the school to achieve. So they fund the school in that area through the library, all the programmes. So you see that it becomes a competition among the communities.
And then when it comes to that point, you see that the level is getting raised up. And what the government does most likely is to make sure the competition is fair. But I know this in Africa, excuse me, you want to wait for the government to do A to Z, everything. But that is why I am encouraging my fellow Africans let’s start from a small area, family, village or clusters. Then let’s see what we can do. I don’t have the money, but at least if you have a plan to do something, a non-profit organisation will come, knock on your door, see your plan and make it work.
In Europe and other developed countries, multinationals get involved in education.
Exactly. And that’s a good thing you notice because it happens a lot here in America. I will give you a concrete example. There is a company called Best Buy here. They sell electronic stuff. At the beginning of every school year, they donate computers, all these things. That is what they call social responsibility. So if you have a company in some area, you are obligated at least to donate some of your profits, a portion of your profits to education, health, or something to support that area. That is why I said that early, not a government does everything. You see that? There is a social responsibility. But when it starts to see that in our country, in Africa, we don’t see that much coming up from those companies who come to implement their business, but they are not doing much of the social responsibility they should.
As the meeting progresses, what would you like to be the take away?
Thank you so much. First of all, I do appreciate the fact that the World Bank and IMF joined together to do that meeting and to open up to those who can attend the first NGO all these so we can debate. After the debate, myself, I don’t want to talk and talk. I need action. So after the debate, let’s raise a hand, asking the world, where are we going from now on? Because it would be useless to come back a year after, in October, annual meeting, and saying the same thing. But we need to put something in place. Where are we going from now on? Like a blueprint? Yes. And believe me- I don’t shy. I will raise my hand. I will say, at least, let’s put some committee and commission in place to work on one or two projects. And then maybe in October, we come and report on that. And if we need a budget, somebody will finance that budget. So we can start something.
