The COVID-19 pandemic is directly and indirectly affecting governments’ ability to secure their populations. This is also the case of the core Sahel countries – which, in this brief, are defined as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Officially, none of them have been severely affected by the pandemic. However, this does not mean that COVID-19 effects could not materialise. The effects of COVID-19 will come, and while they may mainly be indirect, the consequences could be an additional burden on political and social systems that are already close to the brink.
For several years, the Sahel has been facing insecurity. Niger, by virtue of its geographical position, is the Sahel country most affected by this insecurity, due to persistent attacks by non-state armed groups in its western region bordering Burkina Faso and Mali, and in its eastern region (the Lake Chad Basin), where Boko Haram is active. In addition to this, there is now the added threat of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sahel’s stability and prosperity has been seriously challenged in recent years. The prevalence of intercommunal violence, climate change and food insecurity, among other factors, contribute to the region’s instability. These have been further fuelled by additional extenuating factors that include limitations in economic development, poor development in health and human welfare, and now the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the first COVID-19 cases reached the African continent, early estimates painted a dim picture of the impact of the pandemic on the region. Editorialists, public figures and think tanks predicted a widespread outbreak in the face of governments and health systems lacking the capacities to counter it. On 9 March 2020, the first two cases of COVID-19 were announced in Burkina Faso, followed by Niger on 19 March and Mali on 25 March. The outlook for the Sahel was particularly pessimistic. Some predicted that in addition to the human toll, the pandemic would spark the collapse of the Sahelian states.
The general situation in the Sahel-Saharan region continues to be of concern to the African Union (AU) and the international community. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic is adding an additional element to the multidimensional crisis that the Sahel has already been experiencing for a decade. This is resulting in a negative impact, to say the least, on the actions that were underway in the fight against insecurity and for the promotion of sustainable development.
On 6 May 2020, the African Union (AU) Office of the Youth Envoy, with the support of the Commissioner of Social Affairs and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), established the African Youth Front on Coronavirus. This is an AU framework to engage youth in decision-making, to contribute youth-led solutions and co-lead Africa’s response to the pandemic, as well as to support the implementation of the African Continental Strategic Plan for COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic, as a biomedical public health issue, poses a grave threat to health and life. It is most infectious. It causes serious illness. It is also deadly. With no vaccine yet to treat it, COVID-19 continues to pose a serious threat to the rights to health and life of people. Indeed, the governance and socio-economic fallout from COVID19 poses even more serious threat to large number of human and peoples’ rights. How we respond to COVID-19 and its impacts on the basis of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights could prove to be the litmus test for mitigating the grave consequences to the political freedoms and socio-economic rights of people on the continent.
Stigma and misinformation from COVID-19 are such clear and present threats to global health that they are causing as much concern to policymakers as the pandemic itself. These attitudes and behaviours are killing people and causing harm through hate speech, disinformation, discrimination and xenophobia.
COVID-19 has provoked a series of acts – such as stigma and discrimination against certain groups – across the continent that have exacerbated human rights concerns. According to data captured in the ACCORD COVID-19 Conflict and Resilience Monitor data set, to date 22 out of the 55 African Union Member States have reported incidents of stigmatisation and discrimination due to COVID-19. Such incidents call for the continuation of society-wide measures to raise awareness and disseminate information that this is a worldwide pandemic affecting anyone, regardless of race or culture.
The success of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 will depend partly on forging and strengthening partnerships with young people in Africa. Across the continent, youth-led and youth-focused organisations have continued to show resilience and innovation in contributing to solutions to respond to the challenges that have emerged due to COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic – as well as the governmental and societal responses to it – feed into, feed off, and trigger pre-existing local, national, and global patterns of inequality and exclusion. Unsurprisingly, these responses have also had generational and gendered manifestations. The profile of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, provides a powerful mirror image of the interconnected structural ‘violence of exclusion’ that young women and men described so powerfully through The Missing Peace: Independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security.
The entry into and rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Africa has raised several significant questions pertaining to the capacity of governments to respond effectively and, more importantly, to gain citizens’ – especially youths’ – trust in a period of global crisis. The management of COVID-19 by some African governments has offered a veritable opportunity to garner public trust and at least improve (if not completely change) public perceptions, especially with regard to accountability and transparency.
Even before the onset of COVID-19, the social and economic integration of young people was an ongoing challenge. The pandemic has been particularly hard on young women, children and youth from middle- and lower-income countries. Of the many impacts associated with the pandemic, young people face challenges linked to education, health, food and shelter. Unless urgent action is taken, young people are likely to suffer severe and lasting impacts from the pandemic. In spite of this, young people remain determined to collaborate safely and effectively with governments, civil society and other institutions to ‘Build Back Better’.
The United Nations (UN) is marking its 75th anniversary at a time of great global disruption, as a result of an unprecedented global health crisis with severe economic, social and political impacts. Will we emerge stronger, more inclusive and better equipped to withstand shocks? Or will distrust and isolation grow further?
As a response to the ongoing health crisis, innovative digital solutions are necessary to help us adapt to the ‘new normal’ − and peacebuilding is no exception. While the African continent is often portrayed as the least ‘connected’ part of the world, its responses to COVID-19 demonstrate the potential for home-grown digital innovation that can strengthen societal resilience. But how can this potential be harnessed by peacebuilders to make sure that their efforts support digital self-organisation, rather than hinder it?
Some 60% of the Central African Republic’s (CAR) population is estimated to be under the age of 24. Despite their significant numbers, the youth remain largely under-represented and excluded as partners in decision-making processes, and their contributions to peace are often overlooked. Capitalising on the momentum following the signing of the peace agreement, with funding from the United Nations Peace Building Fund (PBF), ACCORD launched a project titled ‘Towards Youth Inclusive and Gendered Peace Processes in the Central African Republic’.
The Liberian Peacebuilding Office (PBO) undertook a COVID-19 Community Resilience and Conflict Sensitivity Monitoring assessment in July. The assessment revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the drivers of conflict and other early warning conflict factors across the country. In addition, the COVID-19 community conflict-mapping assessment has confirmed and further uncovered emerging conflict drivers – which, if not addressed in the short term, will undermine the fragile peace and the government’s response to COVID-19 emergency health efforts.
The 2020 United Nations (UN) peacebuilding review was tasked to take stock of the progress made over the first 15 years of the UN’s Peacebuilding Architecture (PBA). Over the last few months, almost all peacebuilding initiatives and programmes have been affected by the measures introduced to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The downstream effects of the pandemic are likely to continue to have an impact on peacebuilding, and especially its financing, for at least the next 12 to 24 months.