National Security Advisor Susan Rice headlines annual Africa BrainTrust looking at historic year in U.S.-Africa relations

Press Release

As part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Africa, welcomed more than 500 attendees to the annual "Africa BrainTrust." The event brought together American and African governmental officials as well as prominent private sector and civil society leaders who examined the accomplishments and challenges over the last year for the 54 nations that are part of the African continent.

"Over the past year the world's eyes have turned to Africa," said Rep. Bass. "From historic trade agreements to many national elections, our view of Africa is changing from one of support to one of partnership."

"Africa is on the move," remarked Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, who provided the opening address for the event.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield set the stage for the day by highlighting the 2015 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, President Obama's historic trip to Africa in August as the first American President to visit Kenya and to address the African Union.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield discussed the role of young people on the African continent as well as the importance of addressing serious health issues, including the Ebola outbreak, that gripped the African continent. In addition, she highlighted the many African nations that have national elections scheduled this year and what that means to peace and security for the nations of Africa.

Addressing African Healthcare Infrastructure

Dr. Tom Frieden--Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)--headlined the first panel that examined Africa's healthcare infrastructure where he provided the lessons learned from the Ebola epidemic that erupted in three West African nations last year that to date has infected over 28,000 people, mostly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, taking the lives of over 11,000 of them.

First, Dr. Frieden stressed, every country needs a core set of public health capacities to find, stop, prevent health threats when they emerge, and second, when these national capacities are overwhelmed, the world must move immediately to combat emerging health threats.

"We will be in the region not just until Ebola is beaten, but until there is an effective public health system," Dr. Frieden said, while also discussing the role that the United States is playing in establishing an African Centers for Disease Control.

In April, the CDC announced a collaboration between the African Union Commission and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in which the CDC committed to provide technical expertise for the African CDC Surveillance and Response Unit, as well as advise African CDC leadership in strategic planning for future development.

Looking Ahead and U.S.-Africa Trade

In addition to health experts, Rep. Bass welcomed American and African government and business leaders for a panel discussing U.S. trade and the future of economic investment in Africa. In June, President Obama signed a 10-year extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Since its enactment in 2001, AGOA has helped to significantly increase African exports to the United States and led to jobs both on the African continent and in the United States. According to a 2013 study by the African diplomatic corps, AGOA has generated approximately 100,000 jobs in the United States and 350,000 direct jobs and 1,000,000 indirect jobs in sub-Saharan Africa. A byproduct of this trade is the increase in U.S. exports to African nations to the tune of $26.8 billion in 2013.

Now with AGOA's passage, leaders are looking at the next decade and what is necessary to improve trade between United States and African nations as an official from the U.S. Trade Representative pointed out that trade between the 50-plus nations on the African continent and the United States is just a little greater than trade with the Netherlands.

Mr. Mamadou Beye, International Government Affairs Manager at Chevron, stressed the need to build up infrastructure on the African continent to "help facilitate business development in African countries."

In the shadow of both healthcare issues and trade opportunities, 2015 election results in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Libya, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia could have a dramatic impact on shaping the African continent for generations.

To examine the impact of these elections, Rep. Bass invited foreign policy experts from the U.S. government, non-governmental organizations and journalists to discuss the importance and impact of these elections for Africa and the world.

As Chris Fomunyoh, Senior Associate and Regional Director for Central and West Africa for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs told the crowd, "Elections don't equate to democracy, but are important tenets."

Linda Etim, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa for the U.S. Agency for International Development, stressed this point by pointing out that "elections are about democratic processes and not a one-time event."

And Omoyele Sowore, founder of Sahara Reporter--an online news agency that focuses on promoting citizen journalism by encouraging citizens to report stories in Nigeria--stressed the important role the media plays in any democracy.

As Mr. Sowore stated, he is not "in the business of doing PR for Africa" as he shared how Africa's influence is continuing to grow both with the United States and with nations across the globe.

"Keep your eyes on Africa," Mr. Sowore stressed.

The Africa BrainTrust concluded with a keynote address from President Obama's National Security Advisor Susan Rice.

"We see Africa for what it is--a dynamic, diverse region brimming with economic potential and boundless possibility," Ambassador Rice told the attendees. "Africans are driving their own development, building their own capacity to feed and care for their people, and doing more to prevent and resolve African conflicts."

Ambassador Rice discussed the Obama Administration's goals, challenges and accomplishments in Africa, but she stressed her optimism for the African continent.

"We champion democracy and good governance, peaceful and regular transitions of power, active civil societies and a robust free press--not because we have all the answers, but because healthy democracies are consistently more peaceful and more stable."

Source