African youths have always been, formally or informally, part of the continent’s response to peace and security challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted yet other positive and inherent characteristics of African youth that challenge the negative stereotype that they are synonymous with social disruption and are harbingers of violence
The Lake Chad Basin Regional Strategy for Stabilization, Recovery and Resilience (RSS), adopted in August 2018, identified the eight governors as the primary mechanism for cross-border cooperation as well as domesticating the implementation of this Strategy.
In the four affected countries of Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, widespread insecurity and limited access to health, education and other essential services amid the pandemic threaten to roll back sustainable development gains.
In relation to COVID-19 and its impact, particularly in Kenya, what we are seeing is really a manifestation of what is happening throughout the world. We need to use COVID-19 as a huge wakeup call and call on the solidarity of the youth.
Efforts are being made to ramp up production of COVID-19 vaccines in Africa to address the continent’s low rate of vaccination. As of September 2021, there are at least twelve COVID-19 production facilities set up or in the pipeline across six African countries.
The uprising in Cabo Delgado has roots in both a rising Islamist presence in the region, and predictable grievances about economic marginalisation, a National Plan of Action for Preventing Violent Extremism is a paramount priority.
China’s role in Africa is one of both solidarity and strategy, as has been shown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investment in building effective, inclusive, accountable, and just institutions at all levels prior to political transitions in Africa, could foster post-transition stability on the continent
Peace and security remain a top priority for the future of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), where issues of governance, slow socio-economic development and armed insurgency continue to pose significant threats to the region’s long-term stability. With over 40% of the population in Southern Africa made up of young people, their potential to contribute to social development against this backdrop, remains largely untapped.
Amid a purported increase in vaccine hesitancy in South Africa, and a week of unrest in early July which caused interruptions to the vaccine drive in parts of the country, South Africa has now opened up vaccinations to the entire adult population, that is anyone over the age of 18. Despite studies suggesting that vaccine hesitancy was more prevalent among younger age groups, the youth flocked to vaccine centres in their thousands heeding the government’s call to get vaccinated against COVID-19, stifling some of the panic surrounding vaccine hesitancy.