Harnessing Coronavirus for a Peaceful and Prosperous Africa

This year’s Africa Day takes place against the backdrop of an unprecedented threat to global health and economic security. With the full impacts of COVID-19 on the continent yet to be realized, it’s critical to address the social and economic challenges facing African countries while preserving the hard-won achievements of the last 30 years. The African Union has already employed a coordinated continental response to the COVID-19 crisis and is actively advocating for extraordinary measures based on global solidarity. But how can the continent turn this early leadership into a peaceful and prosperous future for all Africans, both during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond?

Join USIP, representatives of the African Union Commission and the African Diplomatic Corps, and other experts to discuss the African Union’s efforts to mobilize the fight against coronavirus while still alleviating threats to human security and international peace.

Panellists will discuss how COVID-19 is impacting the continent’s social and economic progress, how this year’s Africa Day theme of “Silencing the Guns, Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development” fits into the current reality, and how the U.S. and Africa can foster a genuine partnership to address shared priorities, concerns, and opportunities during a time of global solidarity.

For more information about this event, visit

Speakers:

Ambassador Johnnie Carson

Senior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace

H.E Serge Mombouli

Ambassador of the Republic of Congo; Dean of the African Diplomatic Corps.

Ambassador Matthew Harrington

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs

H.E Nomaindiya Mfeketo

Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa

Ambassador Frederic Gateretse-Ngoga

Head of the Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Division at the African Union Commission

H.E Sidique Abou-Bakarr Wai

Ambassador of the Republic of Sierra Leone; Co-Chair of the African Ambassadors’ Committee for Public Affairs

Professor Landry Signé

Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution; Professor and Co-Director, Thunderbird School of Global Management

Susan Stigant, moderator

Director, Africa Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace

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The United States Institute of Peace is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical, and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. To reduce future crises and the need for costly interventions, USIP works with governments and civil societies to help their countries solve their own problems peacefully. The Institute provides expertise, training, analysis, and support to those who are working to build a more peaceful, inclusive world.