UNGA79: LEAVING NO ONE BEHIND & WHY AFRICA FEELS OTHERWISE

BY JAMES KAHONGEH 

The 2024 United Nations General Assembly in New York has placed Africa at the heart of its discussions. Since this year’s meetings began, African leaders have been influencing and driving the agenda. This has elevated African voices at the most significant UN forum.  

This year’s theme ‘‘leaving no one behind’’ is a bittersweet moment for Africa. While African interests and priorities have started to feature in the global space in recent years, historically, the continent has been left behind on many fronts. 

Here, we look at some of the structural and geopolitical issues that have left Africa acutely underdeveloped, its people poor and food insecure and the continent’s vulnerability to climate change growing. 

Food insecurity  

Africa is the most food-insecure continent in the world. Out of the 86 countries defined as low-income and food insecure, 43 are in Africa, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.  

More shockingly, one in 5 people in Africa goes to bed hungry.  

Indeed, a 2022 Global Report on Food Crises shows that about 140 million Africans face acute food insecurity.   

How then can the world claim to have taken Africa along in its strides when millions on the continent do not have the means to access the next meal? 

Underdevelopment  

Among the most underdeveloped countries in the world, the majority are in Africa. The United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says 33 out of 45 least developed countries (LDCs) in the world are in Africa. This is more than 70 percent representation on the global poverty scale.  

Burundi, Mali and Chad are among the least developed and poorest countries in the world. These countries lack critical infrastructure and their social services are underdeveloped. The quality of life for their population is low.  

If the world were leaving no one behind, how did Africa crash so behind in development? 

Austerity and economic sanctions  

For decades, most African countries have been under the yoke of adverse fiscal policies, including austerity measures. Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi and Tanzania have had these measures imposed on them by the International Monetary Fund. 

In most cases, austerity measures come with tax increases and significant budget cuts in critical government programmes and other social services. The net effect of these measures is poor services. Education, healthcare and social support are usually the first victims of reduced government expenditure.   

The IMF claims that reduction in government spending helps to control the debt appetite. Yet what it ends up doing is impoverishing millions of people – while enriching a handful of others.  

A sick and uneducated society cannot move at the same pace as a healthy and uneducated one, can it? 

Expensive Loans and Debt Distress 

Today, African governments pay interest of between 5 and 16 on loans and 10-year government bonds. In Europe and America, governments pay near-zero and, sometimes, negative interest on similar bonds.  

Today, 19 of Africa’s 35 low-income countries are in debt distress, according to ActionAid report Fifty Years of Failure: the IMF, Debt and Austerity in Africa. 

The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) describes the continent’s debt situation as ‘‘a matter of increasing concern’’.  

There are several reasons for this. Foremost, Africa’s current debt is largely denominated in foreign currencies. This exposes the debtors to foreign exchange risk and even the possibility of paying more than what was initially borrowed.   

Secondly, where loans are advanced, they come with conditions, such as austerity measures. This complicates the repayment plan, sometimes leading to default. 

Thirdly, there is a deliberate failure to review countries’ credit ratings. Ethiopia, for instance, has had an annual economic growth averaging 9.5 percent for more than a decade. The three major international rating agencies have, however, failed to review the country’s credit rating.  

When countries borrow at disproportionately higher interest rate than others, they are chained in a never-ending debt repayment cycle. Debt distress makes it harder for countries to develop. It also complicates the ability to invest in climate action.  

How can this be fair? How can the world claim not to have left Africa behind?  

Energy access 

To date, more than half a million Africans do not have electricity. Nearly a billion others lack means of clean cooking. In the era of cleaner, greener renewable energy, millions of African households rely on biomass for lighting and heating, which exposes families to indoor pollution and respiratory diseases.  

While countries in the Global North developed on account of fossil fuels, Africa remained in the cold and dark. It is undeniable that exploiting gas, oil and coal in Africa has not boosted energy access on the continent.  

This is despite Africa accounting for 40 percent of the total global renewable energy potential. The continent’s wind, solar and geothermal power is 50 times more than the total global energy demand by midcentury.  

Now developed countries are seeking to invest in gas and green hydrogen projects in Africa to export energy to their countries while leaving Africans without access to energy. Even worse, these investments will lock Africa in fossil fuel dependency for years.  

Coming at a time when the world is transitioning to green energy can mean only one thing: the developed world wants to leave Africa behind. Forever. 

Travel restrictions 

Travelling on an African passport can be quite daunting. Many countries globally require Africans to obtain a visa before admitting them into their countries. This makes Africans the most unwelcome people in many countries globally.  

The visa application process is tedious, frustrating and costly. Many applicants are denied a visa even after paying the exorbitant fees required. They end up losing money, making the visa process a money-minting affair for host countries.  

But even those who secure visas are not spared the agony of dehumanising treatment. This includes being subjected to multi-layered security screens. Throughout their foreign visits, African travellers carry on their backs the suspicion of misdemeanour and refusal to return to their country.     

Meanwhile, many foreign nationals are allowed hassle-free passage by African countries. They are welcome to visit and the cost of a visa for them is almost negligible.  

In 2017, Donald Trump barred nationalities of seven countries from visiting the US. Among these, three were from Africa, namely Sudan, Libya and Somalia. US authorities would not issue visas to citizens of these countries. 

Are Africans welcome to tour the world?  

The world must do better to accommodate Africans and their interests. It must also support Africa’s development and climate action to be at par with the rest of the global community.  

Claiming to leave no one behind while doing nothing to lend support to Africa’s growth and resilience to climate change is empty rhetoric that helps neither Africans nor makes the planet a better place.