AU should spearhead search for solutions to Africa's problems

The AU leadership must liaise with African leaders. [iStockphoto]

The African continent is going through a series of challenges that seem to be increasing by the day. One of them is climate change.

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 80 million people in the Horn of Africa are food insecure, with millions of them already starving and with limited access to essential health services.

Severe drought has already led many families from Somalia to migrate to the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya and doctors are warning of looming cholera and measles outbreak in the camp.

The war in Tigray, Ethiopia, has also sparked a humanitarian crisis. The war has led to the death of thousands of innocent people and internally displaced around 2.6 million others.

Military coups are another headache for African countries. Burkina Faso, for example, has faced two coups in a period of eight months. Corruption and power wrangles have been cited as the main triggers. Recently, one person was killed when thousands of Sudanese marched in their capital Khartoum to mark the first anniversary of military takeover which caused political turmoil.

The demonstrators were demanding that General Abdel Fattah-al-Burhan returns the country to the path of democracy. Efforts by the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to broker a deal between the military and the country's political parties have not been successful.

Ebola outbreak

Ebola outbreak is yet another challenge facing countries such as Uganda. So far, 64 cases have been confirmed in the neighbouring country including 25 deaths among them 11 healthcare workers. The Ministry of Health in Kenya has placed 20 counties on high alert as cases continue to rise in Uganda.

It is crystal clear that sub-Saharan Africa is currently in the grip of political, social and economic crises. This was echoed recently by AU Chairperson and Senegalese President Macky Sall who, during the opening ceremony of the 8th edition of Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, admitted that the current 'picture' of the continent is not bright.

Our current problems have been made worse by the slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, high levels of public debt and inflation. For example, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, the inflation rate in Kenya stood at 9.2 per cent in September compared to 8.5 per cent in August. A clear illustration of how situations are deteriorating.

The African Union must carry out a root cause analysis of what is currently ailing the continent so as to come up with durable solutions. Most of our challenges are man-made and are entirely preventable.

The union was established to empower African countries and ensure social, political and economic development and stability across the continent. The AU leadership must therefore liaise with African leaders to get the continent out of these problems.

-Mr Gikima is a YALI RLC Fellow, Cohort 40. [email protected]