The lockdown-type measures adopted by governments to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has deprived mediators and facilitators of the opportunity to use these important tools to resolve African conflicts and consolidate the implementation of peace agreements. However, we hope for a successful fight against COVID-19 in Africa that will reopen opportunities for mediation in Africa.
At least 22 countries in Africa were scheduled to hold either local government, parliamentary or presidential elections this year. Given the almost universal strategies adopted to prevent the spread of coronavirus – including restricting people to their homes, border closures, travel restrictions and banning large gatherings – the decision whether to continue with some of the elections despite COVID-19 became a controversial issue. Stated differently, the decision came down to either preserving the vote or the voter.
The year 2020 is a significant milestone for gender equality and women’s empowerment, as it marks the anniversary of unprecedented policy commitments and practical action frameworks.1 The COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly disrupted plans to assess the progress of these milestones, celebrate the achievements and set new objectives or goals.
There is now an unprecedented opportunity for Europe to begin its journey towards a new contemporary and future shared ethical relationship, and do so not only as good regionalism, but also as an exercise in multilateralism, forging a new approach in its relationship with Africa, this time based on solidarity, one that will include a fundamental re-examination of how unfair trade and existing debt structures are impeding, not only the capacity to respond to COVID-19, but also the necessary transformations which a continent is getting underway, with an African agency that seeks a new form of partnership with its most proximate neighbour, the European Union.
COVID-19 prevention policy measures – such as working and schooling from home, travel bans and quarantines, social distancing, the mandatory wearing of masks and limitation on gatherings (for instance, funerals) – have ignited the iconic debate on which comes first: freedom or security?
If we do not change the face of politics, if we continue to ignore the lessons of decades of women’s activism, if we continue to spend our resources on weapons rather than on social services, we will have a harder time recovering from this pandemic, preventing the next one, or overcoming the climate crisis. It is an easy choice to make.
The measures taken by African governments to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic may have saved thousands of lives, but they have also left many struggling socially and economically in one way or another. In this turbulent moment, we need solidarity, inspired by ubuntu, so that we can be fully human together amidst COVID-19 for a common purpose of social protection, human dignity and economic stability.
COVID-19 could deepen fragility and exacerbate violent conflict, though data from regional security interventions to date suggest that not much has changed. However, with the rapid spread of COVID-19, the likelihood of a worsening security situation and a more constrained operational effectiveness of security personnel is a possibility.
Conflict-sensitive approaches to developing national strategies for addressing COVID-19 in Ghana – including strategic communication, situating preventive and response measures within the rule of law, broad-based stakeholder consultations and reliance on evidence-based information for decision-making – were critical to minimising the conflict multiplier potential of the COVID-19 prevention and response efforts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted peacebuilding. All travel has been halted and new ways of working have had to be developed. Programmes have had to be reviewed and adapted to the new circumstances. In most cases, international staff are now working remotely, and national and local peacebuilders now have to continue the work on their own.
Approximately 100 days into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a notable increase in social and political protests in some countries in Africa. These protests reflect pre-existing frustrations with social and political conditions that have now been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 restrictions, especially in the spheres of health, education, politics and service delivery.
Public trust in governance and institutions has emerged as an important element that determines the resilience of a society to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. This helps to explain why some governments have been able to maintain onerous lockdowns effectively and why others with relatively strong economies and health systems are struggling to contain the spread of the virus.