US still has an edge over Russia in Africa, says AFRICOM commander

• The Ukraine war and Houthi attacks in the Red Sea directly impact the lives of millions of Africans, says the US military commander for African operations.
• US efforts to fight extremism on the continent have suffered due to coups in the Sahel.
• But American humanitarian efforts may give it an edge over Russia. 

The United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) is concerned that Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Houthis attacks in the Red Sea "directly impact the lives of millions of Africans", its head, General Michael Langley, has told a committee of the US House of Representatives.

The Ukraine war has increased prices for oil, food, and fertilisers worldwide, all of which impact African economies directly, while they also struggled with higher borrowing costs and capital outflows as high-income nations hiked interest rates.

The Houthis attacks have a direct impact on aid meant to reach war-torn Sudan, because ships from Asia destined for Port Sudan now have to go around Cape Town, then go through the Mediterranean Sea and enter the Red Sea through the Suez Canal from the north.

Another problem is the risk to East Africa's grain and fertiliser imports from Ukraine and Eastern Europe.

Langley said that unconstitutional changes in governance in parts of Africa, particularly the Sahel region, and Russia's interference through the Black Corps (formerly Wagner Group) were compromising the US's strategic partnerships with countries to fight violent extremism.

He said:

"These factors sow the seeds of violent extremism and Russian exploitation across entire regions of the continent."

Last week, the junta in Niger said it was cutting its military ties with the US.

This happened as Mary Catherine "Molly" Phee, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, and Langley led a delegation to Niamey.

The US has more than 600 troops conducting manned and unmanned surveillance operations in northern Niger.

Langley said AFRICOM's operations in Africa were Africa-led but American-enabled. 

"AFRICOM's campaign revolves around ensuring strategic access, countering threats to the homeland and US interests, preparing for and responding to crises, and bolstering our allies and partners," he added.

"The plan places our African partners at the center of achieving positive change by executing African-led, but US-enabled, operations."

Langley said the US was ahead of Russia and China through its humanitarian work in Africa, and that should be an advantage in asserting its influence on the continent.

"They can't match what we've been doing in health diplomacy or what USAID has been able to achieve in regards to malaria, HIV/Aids, Covid-19, Ebola, and also the full throes of the PEPFAR (the US President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) program of increasing life expectancy over 20%," he said.

The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.