By Enyichukwu Enemanna
United States Vice President, Kamala Harris has announced that her country will invest the sum of $100m to expand the US’ signature effort to invest in the next generation of African leaders, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).
Harris spoke on Tuesday at the opening of the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington where she spotlighted Africa’s youthful population, making the case that the continent’s demographics will inevitably lead it to become a key global player in the decades to come.
At the three-day gathering which brings leaders from 49 African nations and the African Union for high-level talks, the vice-president announced that apart from the additional $100 million for expansion of YALI, the US Export-Import Bank was entering new memorandums of understanding that will clear the way for $1 billion in new commercial financing in Africa.
About 60% of Africa’s population are under 25 and the young population is to grow to 80% by 2050, which Harris said makes increased focus on the continent necessary.
“This represents an enormous potential for the world in terms of economic growth and for social and political progress,” Harris told a young leaders forum. “I strongly believe that the creativity and ingenuity of Africa’s young leaders will help shape the future. And that their ideas, your ideas, innovation and initiatives will benefit the entire world.”
Her appearance at the forum was one in a series of events designed to showcase US interest in and commitment to Africa after years of what some officials have lamented as a lack of involvement in the continent, which has increasingly become a battleground for global influence between the US and China.
President Joe Biden, who is set to meet leaders on Wednesday, signed an executive order establishing the President’s Advisory Council on African Diaspora Engagement. The African diaspora includes nearly two million African immigrants as well as many African American descendants of enslaved people who have close connections to the continent.
The White House had earlier announced Biden’s support for the African Union becoming a permanent member of the Group of 20 nations and said it had appointed Johnnie Carson, a well-regarded veteran diplomat with decades of experience on the continent, to serve as point person for implementing initiatives.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday said the administration would commit to spending $55 billion in Africa over the next three years.
The money will go to “a wide range of sectors to tackle the core challenges of our time,” and is being distributed in close partnership with Congress, Sullivan said.
Much of the funds appear to come from previously announced programmes and budgets.
The Biden-Harris administration has invested and committed to provide nearly $20 billion in health programmes in the Africa region, the White House said on Tuesday.
That includes $11.5 billion to address HIV/AIDS; more than $2 billion to combat malaria; more than $2 billion in support of family planning and reproductive health as well as maternal and child health and more than $2 billion to address the health, humanitarian, and economic impacts of COVID-19.
The administration also plans to ask Congress for $4 billion for healthcare workers in Africa, investing $1.33 billion annually from 2022 to 2024.
Since January 2021, the administration has invested and plans to provide at least $1.1 billion to support African-led efforts to support conservation, climate adaptation, and energy transitions.
These funds include US International Development Finance Corporation investments into Malawi’s Golomoti JCM Solar Corporation, and a Climate Action Infrastructure Facility.
