Africa Up Close

A microscope image of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Notable African cultural values and systems revolve around communal living, large families, festivals, funerals, and other social gatherings that bring people together and enhance relationships and community. With the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the ways of life of Africans have dramatically changed, possibly for a long time. COVID-19 has disrupted the “normal” way of life and imposed a “new normal” that feels alien to Africans. The pandemic and responses to it are essentially dictating to Africans a new culture that emphasizes individualism over communalism, distancing over congregation, and virtual work over physical work. It has altered Africans’ daily routine of warm close physical contact with families and friends.

Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo with a delegation at the Jubilee House in Accra, Ghana. Photo courtesy of the Government of South Africa via Flickr Commons.

President Nana Akufo-Addo surprised many Ghanaians when he announced on April 19 an end to the three-week partial lockdown imposed on the cities of Accra and Kumasi. At the time of his televised evening address—his seventh since the first two cases of COVID-19 were registered in Ghana on March 12—1,042 cases had been confirmed, with nine deaths from the disease. Hence the panic and concern that cases would skyrocket with a return to full business activity the next day, April 20. Schools were to remain shuttered, while the ban on public gatherings remained in effect.

Baohan Straight Street, an African area in the Dengfeng Subdistrict of Guangzhou, China. Photo courtesy of Anna Frodesiak via Wikimedia Commons.

Africa has been taken aback by the discrimination against black people currently happening in China’s Guangzhou city. China, after having reportedly made headway in containing the coronavirus, is concerned that black Africans might bring a second wave of infections.  A McDonald’s outlet in Guangzhou put it bluntly with a recent notice that read: “We’ve been informed that from now on black people are not allowed to enter the restaurant. For the sake of your health, consciously notify the local police for medical isolation; please understand the inconvenience caused.” Gabriella Dilan, a Ugandan medical student studying in Wuhan, recently told Al Jazeera’s The Stream that Africans in that part of China were subjected to more days of isolation and had their medical clearances withheld for longer periods of time than did non-Africans. This, in turn, prevented Africans, for longer periods than non-Africans, from accessing banks and other facilities that would require leaving one’s dwelling place.

Libya Citizens along the Libyan-Tunisian border. Photo courtesy of the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Department via Flickr Commons.

World leaders met in Berlin on January 20 to enforce an arms embargo and ceasefire to end the long-running civil war in Libya. A little over two months later, the fighting restarted and intensified as the world’s attention turned to the global fight against coronavirus. In Libya, the Government of National Accord (GNA) announced emergency measures and restrictions in recent weeks, urging citizens to self-isolate to stop the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, residents in Tripoli described the resumption of Khalifa Hafter’s self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) offensive on Tripoli and resulting fear as the “worst since 2011,” with the attackers shelling homes, killing six civilians, and injuring six more.

Nigerian snipers conduct an operation “Silent Kill” demonstration during African Land Forces Summit in Abuja, Nigeria on April 17, 2018. Photo courtesy of Spc. Angelica Gardner via United States Army Africa. 

The key issue that continues to threaten peace and security in Nigeria, and to a large extent the rest of the West African sub-region, is terrorism. The region’s most nefarious perpetrators are Boko Haram and the Islamic State in the West African Province (ISWAP). Related issues that further undermine peace in the region are both structural and geographical. Structurally, complex inter-group relations, poor economic conditions, and intense political grievances have created fertile ground for terrorists and generated societal demands for better representation at sub-national levels. These issues have been further compounded by the challenges of state-building in West Africa and the greater Lake Chad Basin. Geographically, the interconnectedness of states in the region and their porous borders allow violent extremism to spill across national borders. Other issues that have fuelled terrorism in the region include abuses by state security forces and unchecked government corruption.

A Somali man photographed after receiving remittances in Mogadishu, Somalia. Photo courtesy of AMISOM Public Information via Flickr Commons. 

The increasing importance of remittances in global financial flows has elicited calls by experts in the development community for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries to harness the enormous potential of remittances for development. In response to these calls, migration and remittances featured extensively in deliberations on financing implementation of the post-2015 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Maputo, Mozambique. Photo courtesy of Hansueli Krapf via Wikimedia Commons.

In October 2017, an extremist group conducted a two-day attack on police stations in Mocimboa de Praia, Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, leaving seventeen dead. While tragic, the incident was not uncommon when examined through the lens of the escalating violent extremism across the continent, particularly in the Sahel region. In Mozambique, the intensity of its situation quickly escalated as the aforementioned extremist group continued to perpetrate attacks throughout Cabo Delgado province. Since its first attack in 2017, the group has killed over 400 Mozambican civilians and caused the displacement of another 100,000.

Members of al-Shabaab disengage and lay down arms in Somalia. Photo courtesy of  AMISOM via Flickr Commons. 

Globalization and information technology have increased the free movement of people, goods, and information from one territory to another, highlighting the interdependence and interconnectedness of the world’s people and economies. However, the world’s increasing interconnectedness, while generally a boon for society, also benefits criminals. They exploit the blue sky of globalization by increasingly becoming transnational and borderless. One of the manifestations of this is the existence of illicit networks in the Horn of Africa and their linkages to the global criminal world.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki photographed together. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. 

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has ruled the country since 1991. Since then, the party has brought commendable economic growth and development including improvements in health, education, electricity, road, telecommunication, and other infrastructures. The same cannot be said on the governance front where the party has demonstrated shortfalls. Over the years, there have been problems associated with human rights abuses, corruption, narrowing of the political space, and unfair distribution of resources and power. In combination, these led to political protests across the country in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Ethiopian Veterans Kagnew Battalion who served alongside during the Korean War. Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Africa via Flickr Commons.

According to South Korea’s Blue House Spokesman, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called South Korean President Moon Jae-In on March 30. The two leaders exchanged their concerns about COVID-19. During the phone call, Abiy told Moon that COVID-19 was the biggest upcoming issue in Africa. He expressed concern about the economic damage Ethiopia is suffering due to COVID-19. At the same time, he commended “brother-like Moon’s response to COVID-19” and said the African continent needs Moon’s experience and global leadership to fight the virus. Moon, in return, thanked Abiy for providing a chartered flight for South Korean troops to return home from their mission in South Sudan. He also asked for Ethiopia to assist any South Koreans in Africa who seek to fly back home during the pandemic crisis.