President Joe Biden delivered his first public statement on US foreign policy last week. Africa was not mentioned. Does this suggest the continent will be absent from the new administration’s considerations?

I think not.

Firstly, the day after his speech, the new president addressed the 34th Summit of the African Union (AU), which was meeting virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He reiterated his commitments to active diplomacy and multilateralism in concert with the AU.

COVID-19 has suppressed economic activity, deprived governments of revenues and increased public sector debt. Many African governments are at risk of defaulting if they cannot restructure their debts in the coming years.

Meanwhile, climate change is contributing to food insecurity, population displacement and water resources depletion in Africa. The latest decadal predictions, covering the five-year period from 2020 to 2024, shows continued warming and decreasing rainfall especially over North and Southern Africa.

While efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 have been commendable across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), more action needs to be taken to ensure that the economy can survive the crisis and rebuild in the aftermath. This is according to partner at Mazars Bongiwe Mbunge.

She points to a number of pandemics that have hit African countries in recent years, including Zika and Ebola, which have equipped these countries to rapidly clamp down on an outbreak. As a result, the response across the continent to Covid-19 has been swift and decisive.