Africa CDC head Ogwell was stopped at immigration in Germany

The World Health Summit, a World Health Organization (WHO)-backed global health conference, is underway in Berlin, Germany.

The event, held from Oct. 16 to Oct. 18, is large and high profile. Around 400 speakers are listed on the official website, and among them are some of the world’s most prominent figures in global health. WHO’s head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UN secretary-general António Guterres, and UNAIDS lead Winnie Byanyimia are expected to be in attendance. So are Bill Gates, Ayoade Alakija, who works on covid-19 access for the WHO, and Ahmed Ogwell Ouma (who goes by Ahmed Ogwell), the acting director of Africa’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Except Ogwell almost didn’t make it to Berlin. At Frankfurt airport, he noted on Twitter, he was “mistreated.. by immigration personnel who imagine I want to stay back illegally.” His attendance at the summit—which is supposed to advance global health, with a specific focus of low-income countries—was in doubt. “I’m happier & safer back home in Africa. They invite you then mistreat you,” he wrote. Visas, he reflected, are like health emergencies and vaccinations: They leave Africa behind.

“Zero visa problems with speakers.”

Ogwell was eventually able to enter Germany, and check into the conference’s hotel in Berlin, according to Daniela Levy, a spokesperson for the summit, who said the organization only learned of the issues faced by Ogwell via Twitter. “[W]e had zero…