What the Russia-Ukraine war and Covid reveal about Africa’s place in the world? – African Business

The deplorable Russian invasion in Ukraine has been triggering my thoughts about the point, two-years ago, on March 11, 2020, when Covid-19, a global pandemic, was declared by the World Health Organisation. 

While the Ukraine War and the Covid-19 pandemic couldn’t be more different, they both serve to illustrate how the international community views the African continent when it comes to global events.

When it comes to Africa and its role in the world order, the international community commits three major mistakes. This is not only harmful to Africans but also to the whole world. Let me tell you why.

Mistreatment of Africans

The first mistake is how Africans are treated when disaster strikes. Covid-19 was a disaster that struck China. It left Africans homeless and racially profiled. As war broke out in Ukraine, Africans were left in the cold, to suffer, while whites were able to flee the country at will.  

Both experiences were not without their challenges. There was initially denial but also in both cases African condemnation at all levels. Finally, Chinese and Ukrainian authorities corrected their behavior. However, both Covid-19 as well as the new war showed that racism is still alive and well around the world. This needs to be eradicated.

Responses from the Government

The second error is in regards to expectations for African governments’ responses to these crises. Covid-19 was an example of the knee-jerk reaction to the idea that African people would be most affected by Covid-19 because of their weak health systems.

This revealed biases that African governments have inferior health policies, or that they and citizens are corrupt or don’t follow rules. We’ve seen similar knee-jerk reactions that African countries are beholden to Russia and that their views on Ukraine are monolithic.

Instead, the reality is that African governments, coordinated by the African Union’s Centres for Disease Control (Africa CDC), were able to examine evidence about Covid-19 response measures objectively, rather than “taking sides” – neither accepting the European herd immunity strategy, nor locking down to China’s extent, while innovating with tailored measures such as border controls and curfews. Africans created innovative policies that could be used by others.

Similarly, today we are seeing African countries take nuanced and complex positions on Russia’s actions and responses, informed by our own history and experiences of invasion, oppression, and the Cold War.

That does not mean we have one uniform view, but a diversity of views that can inform the rest of the world – for example on the importance of regional dialogue, the impact of sanctions, and the potential for truth and reconciliation after war, as employed in Rwanda and South Africa.

False and misleading analyses

The third error is evident in the analysis of the indirect consequences of Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and last but not least. Here, Africans are seen as the most vulnerable and in dire need of humanitarian assistance after a new crisis. Many leaders expressed concern about Covid-19 and feared that African nations would fall into a debt crisis, and that millions of people would become poor due to economic shut downs.

Similar concerns are evident today, supported by figures circulating about Africa’s dependence on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine. This implies that this dependency is worse than the rest. These simple analyses are not only misleading – they can distract attention from what really needs to change. In the case of Covid-19’s economic effects, whilst challenging, African debt has proved resilient. 

Just three African governments out of 55 have said they actively need to restructure their finance – two of which (Ethiopia and Chad) have faced civil war recently. But how has the rest of Africa performed so well?

It is a fact that African economies were marginalised by the Covid-19 shocks. This was due to their lack in financial and trade flows with the rest. Thereafter, governments spent cautiously but nevertheless reached an estimated over 200m people with specific measures to counter the economic difficulties – from fuel price controls to worker compensation schemes.

Likewise, most African countries’ dependency on Russia and Ukraine is low – African countries as a whole import less than 3% of their agricultural imports from the two countries (while Europe imports a combined 7%), and most African consumers have alternatives to wheat for their staples.

Several African governments – from Egypt to Benin – are nevertheless proactively taking steps to mitigate potential rising inflation – steps that many others around the world are not taking. 

The lesson? African governments aren’t helpless and don’t need aid – they need higher quality debt, trade and investment from the rest of the world, which will in turn enable them to support their citizens more flexibly.

Learn from your mistakes

These are the three biggest mistakes that businesses can make, especially if they are from Africa.

I have previously argued that the experience of Covid-19 should shift perceptions of who is and isn’t more “risky” or “vulnerable”. Unfortunately, this is still not the case today. Not only do Africans bear the brunt, but so does our economy. This must change.

There is an even deeper lesson. Far from being the “worst”, African countries are often exemplary. We have a lot to offer that can solve global problems. But, the current multilateral system is oriented in the wrong direction. They are oriented to ostensibly “help” Africans, when it would be equally useful for others – especially richer countries – to be humble, and act in ways that Africans have. 

Essentially, reforming international systems is essential to allow Africans to be treated fairly, to influence global economic trends to our benefit, and to learn from others. I hope that there is no need for another global pandemic, or a terrible conflict before the international community learns from its mistakes.

 Hannah Ryder is the CEO of Development Reimagined – an African-led international consulting firm based in China.