Africa Rising 21st Century

              As with any new U.S. administration, there is increasing talk about defining the Biden Africa policy.   There are articles and position papers, etc., calling for various policies to be developed and implemented.   Over the years, the various U.S. administrations have heeded such calls.   Bill Clinton had the African Growth and Opportunity Act; George W. Bush had the Millennium Challenge Account, the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief and the Presidential Malaria Initiative (all of which heavily benefited African countries and people); Barack Obama had Trade Africa, and Donald Trump had Prosper Africa.             But all these programs dealt with the WHAT of Africa policy, but those who promoted these programs didn’t sufficiently delve into the HOW of implementation – not just the program mechanics, but also the contrasting missions of various stakeholders and how that would impact U.S. policy through these programs, and more generally, on how the U.S. govern

              Africa is a part of the world vital to the rest of the international community.   Donor countries are concerned about the role African nations play on the world stage in helping to resolve conflicts or in standing in solidarity in the fight against terrorism.   International financial institutions and the business community worldwide are concerned with the impact African countries have on the global economy.   Civil society organizations are concerned with the welfare of Africa’s people.   So, it isn’t as though Africa is completely ignored, but a lack of understanding about the true nature of African societies by non-Africans leads to a blurring of differences between African governments and African people.   You see it in the remedies implemented in response to the coups that unfortunately have ramped up lately on the continent and the conflicts that ravage countries and spill over into neighbors.             Sanctions are often threatened in response to conflicts and

  Africa has several pressing crises at the moment, most notably the year-long war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and the recent military coup in Sudan.   Although they draw much of the attention of the international community, there are other conflicts on the continent that are provided less consideration even though they are serious as well.   Then there is the devolving situation in Nigeria – Africa’s most populous nation – that is much more serious than in being realized. American military strategists cited the danger of an unstable Nigeria in the 2011 report, Failed State 2030 : “Although not possessing nuclear weapons, Nigeria has the potential to dramatically affect the United States and the global economy if it fails. Africans are fond of saying: ‘As Nigeria goes, so goes Africa.’ Nigeria’s geographic and political position in Africa, its single-commodity and soon-to-be-top-20 oil-rich economy, extra-ordinarily complex demographics, culture of corruption, poor and failing nati

              COP26, the international climate conference, has begun, but what will it mean for an African continent bearing the brunt of climate change, yet needing to catch up with much of the rest of the world in industrialization, which would be inherently polluting? Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, opened the conference, saying the devastating loss of lives and livelihoods this year due to extreme weather events clarifies how important it was to convene COP26 despite the impacts of the pandemic still being felt. "We are on track for a global temperature rise of 2.7C, while we should be heading for the 1.5C goal. Clearly, we are in a climate emergency. Clearly, we need to address it. Clearly, we need to support the most vulnerable to cope. To do so successfully, greater ambition is now critical," she said. In the case of climate change, Africa is vulnerable as we continue to witness because it is exposed to damaging climate risks includin