Did you know that the recent war in Ethiopia (Tigray War 2020-2022) has been the deadliest in the 21st Century? So why is U.S President Biden or Secretary Treasury Janet Yellen not addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Africa?
The U.S Secretary of Treasury is in Ukraine following President Biden’s midnight train ride to the war torn country. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen announced that the United States will send an additional $10billion in economic assistance to Ukraine. The US government has already sent close to $150 billion to Ukraine in economic and military aid in the last year. Also, Janet Yellen visited Africa in February this year, but did not bother to stop in the DRC or in Ethiopia, where serious humanitarian crisis is ongoing. Furthermore, First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden failed to visit these two countries or address this ongoing catastrophe last week while she visited Africa.
Why is the United States so focused on helping Ukraine such that the rest of the developing world feels neglected and discriminated upon? Where is the aid to help rebuild the lives of millions of struggling Africans?
Ethiopia
As Ukraine receives all this assistance, the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world is being neglected or ignored to say the least. The brutal war in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region has seen at least 600, 000 to 800,000 people killed following a brutal civil war that broke out in November 2020 before the peace agreement was signed in November last year.
Official death count reports have not been tabled yet, and these are estimates given by the African Union and the European Union. These estimates are three times more than the number of fatalities reported in the war in Ukraine. Innocent civilians were raped, massacred, tortured through ethnic cleansing, and sexual violence among other atrocious crimes. More than 5 million people fled from their homes and are in dire need of humanitarian assistance such as food and medical aid. Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict is undoubtedly the world’s largest conflict. A United Nations report found evidence of widespread ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity’.
Congo
Since March 2022, more than 600,000 people have been displaced following a spike in violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations reports that the humanitarian catastrophe in the Congo is set to worsen claiming that there are at least 5.7 million internally displaced people (IDPs), with harm being caused to vulnerable children.
Conclusion
Can the United States accord the same empathy and assistance to African countries as it is giving to Ukraine? The US government seems to go to great lengths to deliver support, and keep funding a war that could end if dialogue and diplomacy were emphasized. The US is setting a bad example by fighting for the human rights of Ukrainians and not showing significant support to Africans that are bearing the brunt of war. If the US is to lead by example in fighting for democracy, let it be for all human beings in the world, not just for some. It is time to call to an end the war in Ukraine, and stop what seems to be aid discrimination against Africans.