In this week’s Monitor, Madame Bineta Diop, Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security, considers the impact of COVID-19 on the women, peace and security agenda in Africa. She calls for a fundamental shift in our agenda for peace and transformation, and for our actions to be anchored on three critical pillars: women’s leadership, investments in social infrastructures for human security, and solid accountability.
We also focus on the impact of and responses to COVID-19 in two countries: Kenya and South Sudan. In Kenya, the measures introduced to contain the virus are having a serious impact on the socio-economic well-being of the people, especially those dependent on daily wages and the informal economy. If left unaddressed, this could lead to more social unrest.
In South Sudan, measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are starting to impact on the successful implementation of the peace agreement. Compounded by earlier delays and a rise in intercommunal conflict, these further delays are adding additional pressure to an already vulnerable situation.
Lastly, ACCORD’s Professor Martin Rupiya sheds light on how COVID-19 is affecting the elderly. He points out that the elderly is the age demographic that is most vulnerable to succumb to COVID-19, and calls on governments to consider how their COVID-19 policies and measures are affecting the elderly.
