MALABO, Equatorial Guinea
Africa has become a “collateral victim” of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, further denting the continent’s ability to fulfil its “enormous promise and potential”, top officials of the African Union and United Nations have said in messages for Africa Day.
Every year, May 25 is marked
as Africa Day, the anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African
Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963, which became the African Union in July 2002.
“Africa has become the
collateral victim of a distant conflict, that between Russia and Ukraine,” said
Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission. “By
profoundly upsetting the fragile global geopolitical and geostrategic balance,
it has also cast a harsh light on the structural fragility of our economies.
“The most emblematic sign of
these fragilities is the food crisis following the climatic disorders, the
health crisis of COVID-19, amplified today by the conflict in Ukraine,” he
added. “This crisis is characterised by a shrinking world supply of
agricultural products and a soaring inflation of food prices.”
Millions of people in Africa,
which has an estimated population of 1.3 billion, have been pushed into extreme
poverty by the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, the continent has been hit hard by
rising food costs caused partly by disruptions linked to the war.
Russia and Ukraine produce
approximately a third of global wheat and barley, and two-thirds of the world’s
exports of sunflower oil used for cooking. The conflict has damaged Ukraine’s
maritime and agricultural infrastructure, and that could limit its agricultural
production for years.
Mahamat said Africa remains
embroiled in a ceaseless struggle against “terrorism, violent extremism and
transnational crime – human, drugs and arms trafficking”.
The AU chairperson’s statement
comes just as the body begins a three-day summit in Equatorial Guinea.
In his message, UN chief
Antonio Guterres warned that the “war in Ukraine is creating a perfect storm
for developing countries, especially in Africa”.
“This crisis is resulting in
soaring costs for food, energy and fertilizer with devastating consequences on
nutrition and food systems, while making it even more difficult for the
continent to mobilize the financial resources needed to invest in its people,”
he said.
However, Guterres also
recognised Africa as “a home for hope,” hailing the “enormous promise and
potential of this diverse and dynamic continent”.
“The prospects on the horizon
are bright – from Africa’s growing and vibrant youth population, to initiatives
like the African Continental Free Trade Area, the Decade of Women’s Financial
and Economic Inclusion, and the African Union’s bold vision for the future,
Agenda 2063,” he said.
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