Liberia: ‘Africa’s Humanitarian Problems Need Resilient Solutions’

President George Weah has reminded his colleagues at an African Union summit of the need to identify durable solutions to address the continent's current humanitarian challenges, especially humanitarian financing as a means of recovery, peace, and development.

The Extraordinary AU Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, takes place at a time of increasing food prices across Africa and aims to mobilize continental and international support and resources for humanitarian response in Africa. Addressing the summit, President Weah called for inclusive and initiative-tackling policies to address the potential drivers of conflicts on the continent.

President Weah also expressed firm conviction in Africa’s ability to build what he terms ‘resilience policies and responses through regionalism and linkages across borders. He said the greater action taken on regional and intergovernmental agreements will herald greater flexibility in addressing the issues of conflicts and climate change.

President Weah argued that Africa more than before needs resilience policies and responses through regionalism and linkages across borders, that would ensure that no African nation is left behind in areas affected by conflict and climate change.

“Our continent continues to face some of the most complex humanitarian emergencies caused by natural and human-induced disasters that are driven by terrorism, insurgencies, and civil conflicts, leading to mass displacements both within and across national borders,” Weah said in his speech to more than forty African heads of States at the summit. “These predicaments have exponentially increased humanitarian needs over the years among the most vulnerable populations,  who are already confronted with multiple risk factors of conflict and environmental degradation, among others. 

“More than 114 million of our African citizens in the fifteen most affected countries require urgent assistance. At the same time, it is important to note that financing response plans have been severely underfunded to cope with the current challenges, and the funding gap between available income and expected expenditures remains exceedingly large.

“We are convinced that the African Continent can build resilience policies and responses through regionalism and linkages across borders; that the greater action that we take on regional and intergovernmental agreements, the greater will be their pliability in addressing the issues of conflicts and climate change that are part of the key drivers to our complex humanitarian emergencies,” the Liberian Leader noted.

The AU Humanitarian Summit, which was held on May 27,  provided an opportunity for Weah and his colleagues to deliberate on humanitarian challenges, hopes, and challenges in Africa. The continent now faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tons of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans imported as a result of the disruption of food supplies arising from the Russia-Ukraine war.

The price of wheat has soared in Africa by over 45% since the war in Ukraine began, according to the African Development Bank. The Bank noted that fertilizer prices have gone up by 300%, the continent faces a fertilizer shortage of 2 million metric tons and many African countries have already seen price hikes in bread and other food items. If this deficit is not made up, food production in Africa will decline by at least 20% and the continent could lose over $11 billion in food production value.

At the same time, the continent’s humanitarian crises have been exacerbated by climate change. A 2021 report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), released in May, suggested that 23.7 million people were internally displaced as a result of climate-related disasters worldwide, as well as 14.4 million displaced by fighting.

In recent years, countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan have seen greater and more frequent floods and droughts. Climate-related shortages are predicted to exacerbate existing conflicts. Cameroon is one prominent example, where the country’s few water resources in the far north have set fishermen and farmers against one another, resulting in the relocation of at least 100,000 people within Cameroon.

UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner, Raouf Mazou, said in an address during the summit that climate-related disasters in recent years have added to existing population displacements caused by violence and conflict.

The UN humanitarian office, OCHA, has estimated that some 18 million Africans could face severe food insecurity in the coming three months, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Meanwhile, President Weah, while discussing the continent's enormous challenge, said that their financing response plans have been severely underfunded to cope with the current challenges, stressing that “the funding gap between available income and expected expenditures remains exceedingly large.”

President Weah then added that if Africa will have to address the potential drivers of conflicts and climate change to confront the current humanitarian challenges, leaders must implement inclusive and initiative-tackling policies that will herald greater flexibility in addressing the issues of conflicts and climate change.

“Humanity is key.  During our protracted civil conflict that caused the death and displacement of so many of our citizens, all of you played a part to restore peace to Liberia,” the Liberian President said.  “Today, Liberia is a post-conflict success story.  We thank you for all that you did for us.  And so, as a founding member of the African Union, Liberia will give a generous pledge of One Million United States dollars.”

With the guidance and commitment of Member States, he said that Africa can implement timely measures to protect its people, ensuring that no one is left behind being affected by conflict and climate change.

President Weah then pledged that Liberia would play a significant role in the affairs and structures of the AU in line with the flagship national development plan, the Pro-poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development, which he said is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. 

He also urged the Summit to continue to dialogue to mitigate crises in the African Region. He reminded the Union not to forget the crisis between Ukraine and Russia, which he maintained hurts global trade and world economies.