Severe Ebola crisis puts into focus urgent need for health emphasis

By Clifford A. Kiracofe Source:Global Times Published: 2014-8-27 17:43:01

The Ebola crisis in Africa brings into sharp focus the need for peaceful development of the continent rather than its securitization by the US and the West. International cooperation rather than confrontation is the correct way forward.

I have traveled in Africa a number of times over some three decades for speaking tours and research throughout the continent. In the late 1970s, I saw South Africa's apartheid state, Zimbabwe's internal war, and Namibia's political tensions. In recent years, I saw the rise of political Islam and tensions in northern Africa.

The so-called "Scramble for Africa" by European imperial powers in the late 19th century led to a century of brutal colonial exploitation. Only after WWII did the process of decolonization get underway.

The colonial legacy runs deep. It is notable that Africans are naturally concerned by any attempts toward neocolonialism by the West in whatever guise it appears.

When I asked a prominent young African leader a decade ago about what the best US policy would be, he replied quickly and succinctly.

He said the US should help in the fields of education and public health.

As the present Ebola crisis developed, I reflected on the young leader's reply to my question. In contrast to his hopes, US policy has destabilized northern and western Africa in recent years, triggering widespread violence and even chaos.

The US and Western regime change policy in Libya has spread terrorism and instability into northern Africa and western Africa. This has been compounded by the rampant narcotics trade in these regions.  The Ebola crisis adds a new sinister dimension.

The recent Africa summit in Washington, which included a special young leaders' program, indicates US interest in Africa.  Many political leaders say this interest will be long term and will be bipartisan.

During the summit, President Barack Obama announced several initiatives, which included economic as well as public health measures.

The president rightly focused on the issue of public health infrastructure, and promised the US will do more to develop it on an Africa-wide basis. The US would assist the African Union to develop African centers for disease control, he said.

While many of President Obama's comments and initiatives are welcomed, there are some problems, according to critics. US policy seems oriented toward imposing Western rules and values on Africa, so as to include "Washington Consensus" economic policies.

Rather than permit African countries to create their own development models suited to their circumstances, some feel there is an underlying geopolitical design behind US policy which is aimed against alternative policies and models.

President Obama is dismissive when it comes to the former generation of African leaders and their concerns about sovereignty and neocolonialism. His own father from Kenya, however, was among this generation.

The rising BRICS group, composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has fresh innovative proposals for a changing world. This contrasts with US policy which is rooted in an outdated post-WWII narrative and in an outdated international financial architecture.

Washington aims to control the African "periphery" from the Western "center," critics warn.

Washington's obsession with China's constructive engagement with Africa is no secret. US policymakers wring their hands over resource-rich Sub-Saharan Africa being successfully engaged by China.  Think tank specialists with zero-sum minds are beside themselves creating scenarios about a "China threat."

Such thinking is not new. Back in the 1970s, during the Cold War, the "Soviet threat" in Africa was big business for think tanks and US government agencies and departments.

Back then, scenarios involving "resource denial" of African minerals, disruption of railroad lines, and disruption of sea lines of communication along the "Cape Route" were quite in fashion. Today, it seems as if such threat scenarios have been dusted off with China replacing the Soviet Union.

As the Ebola crisis demonstrates, the US' Africa policy must reject geopolitical confrontation and focus on constructive engagement and international cooperation to promote peaceful development. 

The author is an educator and former senior professional staff member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



Posted in: Viewpoint

blog comments powered by Disqus