ROGER CHAUFOURNIER AND THE ONCHOCERCIASIS PROGRAM A' 31569 RA 644 .053 C43 1994 ONE OF ITS Roger Chaufournier and the II il ii II *** RA 644 .053 C43 1994 Africa Region The World Bank. June 1994 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER 1924-1994 11 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER AND THE ONCHOCERCIASIS PROGRAM A TRIBUTE TO ONE OF ITS FOUNDING FATHERS SECTORAL & IT RES01 'I?f"'t:: rC:~ITER MhR a9 2000 WORLD BANK Africa Region The World Bank June 1994 Preface Edward V. K. Jaycox! The World Bank lost one of its leaders and exemplars with the death in March 1994 of Roger Chaufournier. He was a wonderfulfriend and a strong partner ofAfrica. This booklet assembles some tributes, most linked to an International Conference on Onchocerciasis in Paris, April 1994. It serves to refresh our memories and to offer some inspirationfor the long road ahead towards development and equity for Africa. 'Mr. Jaycox. Vice President of the Africa Region. The World Bank HI OnchocerCiasis Program Area Table of Contents Why Did the World Bank Embark on the Onchocerciasis Program? Roger Chaufournier's words (Oral history). The World Bank's Venture into the Onchocerciasis Program. Robert McNamara. 3 Health, Onchocerciasis, and Roger Chaufournier. Luis de Azcarate. 7 A Man of Heart, Courage, Dignity and Modesty. Marc Bazin. 9 People Who Helped to Build the Onchocersiasis Program. President Abdou Diouf, Senegal. 13 Roger Chaufournier and the Onchocerciasis Control Program. Katherine Marshall. 15 A Personal Tribute. Francois Laporte. 17 The Image of a Caring World Bank. Taki Ould Sidi, Minister of Planning in Mauritania. 19 The Twinkle in his Eye. Albert Osei. 21 v Blinded victims of Onchocerciasis being led by small children. VI ROGER CHAUFOURNIER Why Did the World Bank Embark on the Onchocerciasis Program? (An Extract from an Oral History by Roger Chaufournier) In the course of an IDA review committee meeting under George Woods2 , the issue of possible Bank financing for health came up. Luis de Azcarate suggested, "If we are looking at whether IDA should finance other activities than what we have been traditionally financing, why not health?" And he added, "In Africa there is a disease called Onchocerciasis - River Blindness - which affects such a large part of the population in an area which is the most productive area of Africa, in the river valleys, that people have to migrate to the plateau where they can eke out only the most meager livelihood. Here, you can establish a direct link between health and development. Why not look at it?" I was struck by that. I got interested, heard more about River Blindness and talked about it. In the end, though, it disappeared in the final version of the report. So there was no health for the moment. When I came to Africa, I was again struck by the problem. I asked Jacques Crosnier, a medical doctor who was working in education and agriculture at the time, to look at the health problem in Africa. I said the only way we could move into health would be to demonstrate the clear link there was with development. He put together a few ideas; for instance, that the working life of an African farmer was about half ofthe working life of a LatinAmerican, so you had a very high dependency ratio of popUlation, with a small productive population. We worked on the idea with Marc Bazin, who was then the chief of the division covering Upper Volta. He suggested, "When we organize the upcoming visit of Bob McNamara3 to the Upper Volta, let's take him there to these villages to get a visual perception of the problem. The head of the group which does research and started a small program of control is there, and will take him to a village where the disease has been controlled. Let's listen to him for an hour." We organized the visit. When we finished the day there, Bob said: "What have you been waiting for to get into this program?" A month later, a greatly expanded program was organized and we had six organizations and seven countries working concertedly. $60 million was raised in funds for River Blindness control. This is how, we in the Bank, got into health. 2George Woods, President of the World Bank, 1963-1968 3Robert McNamara, President of the World Bank. 1968-1981 1 Robert S. McNamara and Roger Chaufournier during a visit to Pointe-Noire in the Congo in March 1972. 2 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER The World Bank's Venture into the Onchocerciasis Program Robert S. McNamara Former World Bank President March 24, 1994 Roger Chaufoumier was a wonderful public servant, a marvelous, warm human being, and a great friend. The success of the River Blindness program stands as one of many tributes to him. He was very much "present at the creation" of the program, led it in its early years, and took great pride as it began to show results. The program shows what can and must be done in Africa. Roger's insights, powers of persuasion and persistence helped to translate this ideal and confidence in Africa's future, which we shared, into the reality of a better quality of life for millions of people in West Africa. I remember vividly those days in what was then called Upper Volta and is now Burkina Faso, when we decided that the World Bank should embark on a bold new program to conquer Onchocerciasis. Roger, my wife Marg, and I visited Ouagadougou together in 1972. Ouagadougou seemed as far from WaShington as any place on earth, and the challenge of poverty there seemed almost insurmountable. Prospects looked grim for the people, and each hurdle facing them was immense. To make things worse the region seemed gripped in an unrelenting cycle of devastating droughts that defied solutions. We had heard, before and during the visit, about the terrible disease called River Blindness, and some had suggested that the World Bank should playa role in doing something about it. We could hardly pronounce the name of the disease, much less spell Onchocerciasis, but we were horrified by what we heard about it. Literally millions of people were at risk of a fate that could be worse than death in that society and time: becoming blind in the prime of life, thus maimed and unable to work and contribute to the society. And the supreme irony was that the disease stopped people from using some of the best land that was available in that dry region. With a dry climate made harsher by drought, this was a terrible obstacle to any prospect for development. The catch, though, was that we had only shadowy ideas about how to combat this disease. There was no good cure, and it covered a vast area of land, so any solution would need to be on a vast scale, in areas with real institutions and hardly any infrastructure. 3 As we talked about the disease in Ouagadougou, Roger and I heard about two French scientists who were said to have some ideas and some answers. So we chartered a plane, and Roger, Marg and I went to Bobo Dioulasso, a town to the southwest of Ouagadougou. There we met the scientists, and they convinced us that they indeed knew what should be done, and had answers to the questions we had wrestled with. The disease, caused by a parasitic worm, was spread by a vector, a fly that bred only in fast flowing water. And the courses of flowing water in the region were limited and could be easily targeted: essentially the White, Black, and Red Volta Rivers and their tributary systems. So by treating the flowing water courses, breeding could be stopped, and hence transmission of the disease leading to elimination of the disease itself. There were two "catches", though. First, because the parasitic worm which, as the source of disease, lived so long in its human hosts, the control program would have to be maintained for 20 years, until the parasite reservoir completely died out in the human population. And second, because the fly could travel such long distances (upwards of 400 kilometers), the program had to be launched and maintained uninterrupted and with precision over a vast area involving many countries, some of which were hardly on speaking terms. So Roger and I, then and there, determined that we would do something about the disease. We worked out a collaborative arrangement, letterhead and all, that brought together the key partners, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Development Program, the Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Bank, and we launched a campaign on the spot from Ouagadougou. Roger Chaufournier played a central part in that critical, initial decision to launch the campaign. He also guided and nurtured it through the early years, solving each problem as it arose, encouraging all involved, and always offering a confidence and conviction that the challenge could and would be met. He enlisted the support of many in the Bank, including Marc Bazin who moved to Ouagadougou and ran the program in its early years. He supported an in-house film about the disease to help communication: the film, done by Tom Blinkhorn4, was called A Plague Upon the Land, and had great impact both because it was "homemade", and because it made so clear what impact this disease had on the lives of the people. The people whose lives were disrupted by the flies and this terrible disease were, from the outset, what the campaign was all about. Roger also helped us to deal expeditiously and quickly with issues of what insecticides should be used to ensure that there was no lasting damage to the environment. 'Thomas Blinkhom. World Bank staff member working then in the West African Department 4 The campaign against Onchocerciasis stood out for both Roger and me as a major achievement. It had such a dramatic effect on people. The images of lines of blind men, led by children holding sticks, is moving and indelible to this day. In this instance, too, we know what the effects have been. Because of the vision and courage of people like Roger Chaufoumier, hundreds of thousands of people can see and will not know the scourge of blindness. It is fitting that so soon after Roger Chaufournier's life has come to an end. the West African countries and their partners, whose alliance he helped to forge. are meeting to celebrate the program's success and to strengthen the link between the battle against an ancient and terrible disease and development of the vast areas once heavily infected. All this effort is easily aimed to benefit the people of West Africa. and to use well the lands that were for so long blighted by River Blindness, the Plague Upon the Land. Roger Chaufournier has left a great and lasting legacy to the continent he loved. 5 Roger Chaufournier being interviewed during a mission to Mali in 1974. 6 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER Health, Onchocerciasis and Roger Chaufournier Luis De Azcarate 5 I may have been among the first to suggest we do something about Onchocerciasis, because it was a big problem, in particular in Upper Volta which was one of the countries I was working on. My interest was sparked both because there were very few visible development opportunities in the area, and because I had spent time in the country in the early sixties (before joining the Bank) and had been involved in several discussions about it, with the first Voltaic govern- ment and with French aid agencies. The idea, originally, was economic rather than one of the public health. It was based on the notion, not well documented at the time, I must say, that there was growing population pressure in the region, and that supposedly fertile valleys of the Voltas complex were or had become inaccessible because of the black fly. The important point is that, without Roger, that is, someone deeply concerned with the fate of the people in the area, someone with the capacity, patience and diplomacy that were essential to the undertaking, and someone with the imagi- nation and someone willing to take risk, the River Blindness operation would not have taken off. Not the least ofRoger' s merits was his ability to instill enthusiasm into those who worked with him. There was a happy encounter of the right person at the right place at the right time! SLuis De Azcarate, Senior Advisor to the Director, Southern Africa Department, Africa Region 7 A village in Guinea which had to be abandoned as more and more people fell victim to Onchocerciasis. A village in Mali which was resettled once Onchocerciasis had been con- trolled. 8 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER A Man of Heart, Courage, Dignity and Modesty Marc Bazinli The first time I met Roger Chaufournier, he had just been appointed Director for Western Africa. Very quickly, I was struck by his listening skills. At the same time, his eyes spoke volumes. Sometimes he would take a small notepad out of his inside pocket and jot down an idea. Moving from L~tin America (he called it the "western hemisphere"), he would put himself at Africa's service. From the very first day, I found Roger Chaufournier to be observant, attentive, listening, al ways available, and so he remained throughout the 12 years (1968-1980) I worked with him. He organized his time meticulously, investing very little in his daily routine, and devoting most of his attention to managing people and motivating perfor- mance. When the inevitable problems arose in the exceptional and delicately balanced forum that is the Bank, he saw them coming and acted in time. He delegated a great deal, giving staff as much as they could handle. He gave rewards for work well done, and made a point of giving credit where credit was due. He was a source of inspiration to his staff and stood up for them on the 12th floof7. Every year, we were expected to do more. How, he asked, could we run short of projects in Africa when there was so much to do there? We had to do more. But we also had to do better. This concern for doing better sparked the birth of new types of projects, such as the integrated rural development project in Burkina Faso and the River Blindness program. The project had its risks, but he took them, stayed the course, and never faltered. When Roger Chaufournier took over the Western Africa Department at the end of 1968, the River Blindness (or ONCHO) file had been languishing in the recesses of the Bank for more than 10 years, blocked, quite literally, by a myriad of questions, some reasonable, but more often than not inspired by caution: can you picture the Bank involved in a health project encompassing several coun- tries? And why this disease and not others? After all, Africa is not short on 'i diseases, and better known ones at that. And even then, since the investment means tracking down a vector as deadly as it is mysterious, where can you raise \ $300 million, and at what rate would anyone lend? Of course, all those blind people being led by children make a pitiful sight, but surely the Bank has better 6Marc Bazin, fonner World Bank Staff member 'Location of the office of the President of The World Bank 9 things to do, like roads and telecommunication, than to risk its reputation on a venture of such dubious profitability, however well intentioned. Roger Chaufournier addressed all these questions, and many others besides, one after the other, without illusions or complacency, but simply with an open mind. He was first and foremost results-oriented, with little taste for abstract discussion, however brilliant. Roger was also a man of great heart. The project was admittedly a risk, but a measurable risk given the sheer size of Africa, that ancient land with its complex history, where development constantly needs reinventing in order to find its way forward. Little by little, month after month, after endless missions and countless consultants, and by steering the debate along constructive lines, Roger suc- ceeded in bringing out benefits, in both human and economic terms, that had previously been overlooked. He was thus able to win round the skeptics and strengthen the believers, tactfully and cogently, but without raising his voice or showing impatience. Did he have moments of doubts? Was he afraid of failing? That was his secret, and he took it with him. Roger was an old hand when it came to development, however. He knew very well that there are no sure bets and that a program like River Blindness, however well prepared, is bound to hold surprises in store. I spent entire days traveling with Roger. By train, car, plane and canoe. In all climates, rain or shine. He was indefatigable. He wanted to see everything for himself. In order to understand, he asked questions. He loved Africa, and Africa loved him in return because he was on her side. Never a gesture out of place, never an awkward word, whether at the negotiating table or at the dinner table. With heads of state, ministers or villagers in the project areas. One day, in Dogon countrys, under an oppressive sun, a griOt'-i, probably carried away by the presence of a World Bank Vice President in his land, introduced Roger by saying, "The World Bank is a huge building where all the rich countries left their money and locked the door. They then gave the key for safekeeping to Mr. Chaufoumier, who is here with us today." A wave of enthusiasm and respect rippled through the dense crowd. After the introductory words were translated, Roger burst out laughing and said "Marc, please make sure the Board does not hear about this one." 8Located in Mali, West Africa 9 A traditional African storyteller 10 He loved the World Bank and was always a Bank representative of distinc- tion, dignity and modesty. He identified with the institution and dreamed of an ambitious mission for it that reflected the challenges of development, in which he saw people as a means and as an end, and not a mere economic abstraction. At one of our Annual Meetings, a delegation of African ministers wanted to meet with Roger to discuss once again the sensitive issues of the representation of Africa among Bank staff. At a time when that issue was creating strain between the Bank and Africa, Roger approached it that day with such sincere concern that the ministers left convinced of the justification of the Bank's position and the good faith in which its directors acted. At Roger's door, one of the ministers, drawing me aside, whispered in my ear, "In Africa, a man like Chaufournier is called a real personality." But if he had a soft heart, Roger Chaufournier also had courage. The last time I saw him was early in 1990. He spoke to me about his illness. The doctor had his chances of successful treatment at 5%, whereupon Roger observed: if, whenever I embarked on anything in my life, I had had starting odds of 5%, what wouldn't I have attempted?" With ONCHO he tried. And won. To an entire generation of men and women devoted to the cause of develop- ment, both in the Bank and outside it, he was a guide, an example, and a source of inspiration. He honored me with his friendship. With deep respect I sadly bow my head in his memory. To his wife, Roger Jr., the family, and the entire extended family of the World Bank, I send my consolation and deepest sympathy. 11 Robert S. McNamara and Roger Chaufournier. with Abdou Diouf, then the Minister of Planning. during a visit to Senegal in February 1969. 12 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER People Who Helped to Build the Onchocerciasis Program Abdou Diouf President of Senegal A tribute during the Onchocerciasis Ministerial Conference Paris, France April 12, 1994 It is in the same spirit, as other conference participants have done and will do, I would like to honor Mr. Roger Chaufoumier' s memory, former Vice-President of the World Bank West Africa Region, who was abruptly taken away from his beloved family on March 15, 1994. To the family of this tireless and generous pioneer in his fight against Onchocerciasis, I present our deepest sympathy, asserting our commitment to perpetuate his memory, which is closely intertwined with the battle against the dread disease of Onchocerciasis. 13 Roger Chaufournier during a visit to Mali in 1974. 14 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER Roger Chaufournier and the Onchocerciasis Control Program Katherine Marshall Ul A tribute during the Onchocerciasis Ministerial Conference Paris, France April 12, 1994 "The only limit to our realization oftomorrow will be our doubts oftoday. Let us move forward with strong and active faith". Franklin Roosevelt planned to deliver those words at the moment of his death, and they seem apt as we look at Africa today. With this faith and confidence we can draw real inspiration from the success of the Onchocerciasis Program, and from the many people over many years who have made it possible. Looking back at the 20 year history of the River Blindness Program, it is clear that great vision and courage were needed to embark on this venture. When it was born, West Africa was still dominated by the memory of a terrible drought, and its future was cloudy. There were a thousand reasons why an Onchocerciasis Program could not work: too many countries, the less than total certainty of success, fuzzy responsibilities of agencies, weak institutions. The World Bank was not then involved in health. Had we met 25 years ago, few things would have seemed more improbable than a gathering of so many nations and international partners to celebrate a successful program. Roger Chaufournier was one of the "founding fathers" who, with a blend of vision, courage, caring, and ingenuity, saw the need and the possibility and helped forge the coalition and the program that have conquered this disease. Roger Chaufournier died on March 15, and we take this occasion to pay tribute to his memory and his many contributions to development, and especially to Africa. A crucial moment for the birth of the Onchocerciasis Program came in 1972 (it followed several years of careful internal and external exploration). Roger, with two courageous French scientists (including Rene Leberre, who is here today), convinced Robert McNamara, during a visit to then Upper Volta, that River Blindness was a terrible scourge, and that it could be conquered. It was a 'OKatherine Marshall, Director of the Sahel Depanment, Africa Region 15 disease that maimed people who were already poor, and stood in the way of developing some of the best lands in West Africa. Roger saw the opportunity to change the fate of many hundreds of thousands of people: to give them a chance of life and prosperity. Looking through documents at the time, I also conclude that Roger had an even broader agenda: to entice the World Bank into the health field, which it had shied away from up to that time. For many years Roger Chaufournier used his consummate skills of persua- sion and persistence to help launch the coalition of countries, international agencies, and donors that mark the Onchocerciasis Program. He appointed Marc Bazin to head the program, and together they oversaw the early years, overcame doubts and worked out the legion administrative obstacles in the way. Roger Chaufournier and Robert McNamara were reminiscing not long ago. For both of them the role that they played in bringing World Bank support to the Onchocerciasis Program stood out as a great source of pride and satisfaction. They appreciated the difficulty in embarking on the program all too well: the risks, the competing claims, the environmental hazards, but they committed their efforts to make it work. We salute Roger and the central role that he played. He conquered the "doubts of today" and helped give a real "hope for tomorrow". 16 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER Roger Chaufournier - A Personal Tribute Francois Laportell Roger Chaufoumier passed away at 70 years of age on March 15, 1994 at his home in Potomac, Maryland after a long illness. Despite Mr. Chaufoumier's retirement in 1984, from his position as Vice President of the Europe, Middle East, and North Africa Region of the World Bank, he continued to participate in Bank missions as recently as a few months prior to his death. Mr. Chaufoumier was born in Ligneres, a small village in Cher, in the heart of France. After the German occupation - his father was a resistance fighter - he attended the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales and obtained a Juris Doctorate in Law from the Sorbonne. His desire to constantly increase his knowledge led him to study at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and finally the University of Illinois in the United States through a Fulbright Scholarship. Mr. Chaufournier joined the World Bank as an economist in 1952, shortly after its creation. During his 32 years of service in the Bank, 20 of which were devoted to the Africa Region, he served as Director and later as Vice President for West Africa. He was instrumental in African development and the expansion of the Bank's operations on the African continent. Together with Robert McNamara, he launched the Onchocersiasis Program and mobilized several other countries to finance the operation in conjunction with the World Bank. He expanded Bank's operations in the health, rural development and urban infrastructure sectors, and at the end of the 1970s, expanded the economic reform programs. He strongly believed in regional integration and supported several initiatives in this area (CILSS, BOAD)12. He developed such close personal relationships with many African leaders that during the course of the last ten years he was often called out of retirement to participate in speciaJ Bank missions. In fact many Africans still speak of "Monsieur Chaufournier". Recognized for his work in Africa, Mr. Chaufournier was received in the late 1960s by General de Gaulle who, at the end of the meeting commended Mr. Chaufoumier on his commitment to Africa and its enormous development challenges. "Francois Laporte. Lead Economist. Sahel Department of the World bank 12Comite Permanent Inter-Etats de LutteContre la Secheresse dans Ie Sahel (Permanent Inter- State Committee for the Fight Against Sahelian Drought); Banque Ouest Africaine de Developpement (West African Development Bank) 17 He combined great technical skill, exceptional human qualities, diplomacy, courage, simplicity, spontaneity, and consideration for all. He knew everyone and always had a kind word which touched the heart. He possessed the rare qualities of respect for and trust in his peers. He was, in return, well respected and his reputation was known throughout the Bank. Ten years after having left the Bank, it was not unusual to hear, even among the younger members of the staff, a reference to Roger Chaufournier. He was also a great sportsman and outdoorsman who could be found sailing on the Chesapeake Bay to escape the weight of his responsibilities. He lived in the country, far from Washington; and for the last few years spent half of each year on Sanibel Island on Florida's Gulf Coast in an apartment whose terrace overlooked the sea. From here, he continued to study and prepare himself for missions surrounded by the sea and the sky. He courageously fought his illness for several years. Three years ago he thought he had won the battle after a particularly grueling treatment, only to have the illness return. But Roger did not lose his sense of humor, and when the doctors told him he only had a 25% chance of recovery he replied, "But that's a lot. .. " His friends who joined together in a small Potomac church on a sunny Saturday last March were touched by the serenity of his family, his wife Edna, his son, his daughter and his grandchildren. I was thinking of that small village in Cher which lost, probably without even knowing, a son who set several solid bricks in the foundation of humanity's progress. 18 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER The Image of a Caring World Bank Taki Quid Sidi Minister of Planning, Mauritania It was in 1969 that I made the acquaintance of Roger Chaufournier, who was visiting Mauritania as the leader of a World Bank mission. One of the purposes of this group was to assess the activities of the Mauritanian Iron Ore Mining Corporation, known as MIFERMA, five years before it became the National Industry and Mining Enterprise (in French, Societe nationale industrielle et miniere, or SNIM). At the time, I was in charge of coordinating foreign aid for the Ministry of Planning. In Nouakchott, mission members had had conversations on the country's development prospects and on identification of those sectors where the Bank would be able to playa role. The group then traveled on to Zouerate, where they saw the Tires-Zemmour region at its very best - a vastness of majestic mountain peaks interspersed with abundant pastures where impressive camel herds grazed peacefully as far as the eye could see. Not only for that region, but for Mauritania as a whole, 1969 was a benchmark year, the last before the great drought of the 1970s. The intense activity observable at the mines of Roues sa and Tazadite was most impressive, reflecting the recent introduction of some of the most modem capital equipment then in use in the mining industry. Mr. Chaufournier was very quick to express his great admiration and fascination when confronted with this spectacle of modernity and wild beauty. The Prefect had invited the group for the offering of camel's milk, traditional with all visitors. In his eagerness to serve the guest of honor, who was Chaufournier, first, the manservant, holding a carved wooden bowl full of fresh milk in his hands, tripped. As he stumbled, he spilled the milk over Chaufournier, whose only reaction was an amused smile. After reprimanding the unfortunate manservant, the Prefect consoled his guest of honor by assuring him that, according to our traditions, this was a good omen, one that warded off an impending danger and that was to be taken as a confirmation of success and long life. Chaufoumier was delighted to accept this interpretation of the event. After his baptism with camel's milk, Chaufournier seemed like a ship that had 19 cast off its moorings as he moved about investigating his surroundings and gathering flints and polished stones 13 here and there. Already he appeared to be in perfect harmony with nature in these vast spaces, even to the point of forgetting that our host was awaiting his return before serving a spitted lamb. The Prefect and I had taken advantage of his absence to exchange our impressions of him, noting that they coincided: we had both been struck by the man's distinction, in which elegance and good manners were combined with a certain gentle humility. In his younger days, an interpreter with the Colonial government, the old Prefect said of him: "A thoroughbred, wouldn't you agree? I can 'thelp thinking of the graduates of our own old education system, now so sadly in decline." The conversation then inevitably drifted into a discussion of the different episodes in the French occupation of Mauritania, attested to in this particular region by the presence at F'Derick, a distance of 30 km away, of the old fort named after General Gourand, who had commanded the French Camel Corps, the first troops to occupy the vast Mauritanian north. Chaufournier was obviously delighted to listen to this rather picturesque personage who was proving to be an inexhaustible source of information on Mauritania's colonial history. When they took leave of one another, their esteem, and even affection, for one another were plain to see. There could be no doubt that Chaufournier possessed the qualities that this "land of truth," this "land of men", demands of those who venture to take up its challenge. l) Antique artifacts scattered on the ground 20 ROGER CHAUFOURNIER The Twinkle in his Eye Albert Osei1 4 Early in my World Bank career and as a bachelor, I took a date to one of those Bank-wide Christmas parties where one waited an hour in line to shake Robert McNamara's hand. By the time this was over, my date, the daughter of a very anglophile former Chief Justice of Ghana, was bored to tears. Then Roger came into view and I thought I could impress the young lady by presenting her to "my Vice President". Her response to the polite "Hello, I am Roger Chaufoumier" was "And what exactly does a Vice President do?" Roger tried to answer this question with the usual generalities. But since that day and for a long time afterwards, he never saw me without asking me, but al ways with a twinkle in his eye, if I now knew what a VP does? Yes, the era is gone or at least going! 14Albert Osei, Resident Representative in Burkina Faso, Africa Region 21 This Tribute to Roger Chaufoumier was prepared by the Sahel Department June 30, 1994