Africa Up Close

Whether you are in South Africa, the United States, Zimbabwe, or Ethiopia, there is an urgent need for dialogue to bridge differences and prevent further societal violence. In South Africa, successful negotiations between liberation movements and the National Party that led to the first democratic government in 1994 did not, unfortunately, also lead to broad acceptance of dialogue and negotiation as a usual practice to bridge social and political differences.

After Abiy Ahmed was sworn-in as Ethiopia’s prime minister (PM) in April 2018, his government engaged in normalization talks with Eritrea. In July 2018, the two countries signed a historic agreement that ended two decades of “no peace and no war.” Following this, people-to-people relations resumed, embassies reopened, air flights restarted between Addis Ababa and Asmara, international telecommunication was fixed, and, most notably, border crossings reopened, allowing for free movement of people in both directions. These achievements helped Prime Minister Abiy garner huge popular support within and outside of Ethiopia, and contributed to his being awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.

The provenance of the coronavirus pandemic (the COVID-19 virus) has been traced to Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei Province. To China’s rivals and detractors, this fact is an effective tool in their efforts to undermine China’s growing global influence and its expectations of being a leader in providing public goods and combating disease. The COVID-19 virus presents the world’s most threatening health crisis in more than a century. Due to the rapid spread and severity of the pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, in March the World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is hitting African countries recently emerging from violent conflicts, already struggling with violent conflicts, or transitioning from conflict to peace. The initial impact of COVID-19 in these countries is on health and the economy. As a result, response measures have significant socio-economic impact that may hinder these countries’ attainment of the UN Strategic Development Goals on poverty, food security, inequality, and peace.

The year 2020 will live in infamy as the global economy reels under the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that has seriously impacted lives, jobs, and trade. The virus has so far claimed 582,125 lives and infected more than thirteen million people globally. African countries are already challenged in stemming the spread of the virus, but the task is even more complicated for countries that are constitutionally mandated to hold elections during this unprecedented time. COVID-19 mitigation measures during elections have massive implications for peace and security in these countries, as the measures have the potential to upend the electoral process, lead to bans on campaigning, and abuse by incumbents.

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has devastated the global human security landscape. Currently, there are 7,068,144 confirmed cases and 400,857 deaths worldwide, while 3,496,290 persons have recovered.[1] Beyond the human toll, the pandemic is projected to contract the global economy by 5.7 percent in 2020, with severe consequences on economic development in countries across the world. In Africa, 194,141 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded as of June 7, with 5,304 deaths and 85,447 recoveries. In West Africa, the pandemic has spread across the 15-member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with 42,206 confirmed cases and 882 deaths. Although recorded cases in West African states are relatively low for now, their governments have nonetheless introduced a suite of responses including restriction on movements to mitigate the spread of the pandemic. In addition to the health aspect of West African states’ responses, measures have also been taken to mitigate the acute economic impact of the pandemic. Notwithstanding this, the region’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic appear to be generalized, with relatively less attention devoted to the specific vulnerabilities of women. This inattention to the gender aspect has heightened the impact of the pandemic on West Africa’s health and economic security. Given the significant role women play in socio-economic development in West Africa, disregarding the gender gap in COVID-19 responses has the potential to exacerbate the already entrenched gender inequalities in the socio-economic sphere of societies in the region.

The May 7, 2020 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is alarming: “An estimated 12.8 people are in need of humanitarian assistance (…) This figure represents 10 percent of the total worldwide humanitarian caseload. Those affected by this complex and widespread crisis remain exposed to (…) chronic malnutrition and epidemics, notably cholera, measles, and the Ebola virus.” The majority of people affected are in the eastern DRC’s volatile Kivu region. This situation in Kivu, according to the UN OCHA, is the consequence of a long period of insecurity and the result of continuing fighting between the Congolese Army and non-state armed groups. The region’s long-standing fragility and instability are now facilitating the spread of yet another humanitarian emergency in the DRC: the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. In short, one health emergency (COVID-19) is exacerbating another (Ebola, cholera, and measles).

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.

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.

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.