Coups and COVID dominate African Union summit

The continent is reeling from a string of coups and COVID-19. But the path ahead still isn't completely clear.

The 55-member African Union met in Addis Ababa over the weekend.

As the annual African Union (A.U.) summit came to a close this weekend, the heads of state in attendance were united in their condemnation of a spate of coups across the region, which has seen four states suspended from the organization since July 2021 — most recently Burkina Faso last month. But despite this consensus, the 55-member bloc failed to outline a clear plan as to how it would tackle the continent's most pressing issues in the months ahead. A long list of topics were on the agenda for the two-day summit — ranging from COVID-19 vaccines to climate change. However, limited time prevented in-depth discussions.

Multiple coups raise alarm

"The Sahel must not be turned into a hotbed of un-constitutionalism," warned the A.U. Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye. He also noted an "intrinsic link between governance and weak security apparatus." Mali, Guinea, Sudan and Burkina Faso were all suspended from the A.U. over the past year after their governments were overthrown by the military.

But the A.U. has been accused of an inconsistent response to coups in the region, notably not suspending Chad after a military council took power last April following the death of President Idriss Deby Into. In his closing remarks on February 6, Senegalese President Macky Sall — who is taking over as the chairperson of the AU for 2022 — called for stricter sanctions in various forms. "Embargos on borders, embargos on aerial space, commercial embargos," he said.

Whether the A.U. will be able to successfully exert its influence in response to these crises will depend on following through on concrete actions in the coming months — which are yet to be clearly outlined. "We [all have high expectations] of these summits, but at the end of the day, the decisions alone will not fix these issues," Andy Asamoah, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) told DW . "There is need for a very strong follow-up process to make sure the decisions are implemented."

The A.U., he added, could also play a role in the prevention of future coups. "If the A.U. is going to be relevant, they've got to be much more active in using the Panel of the Wise, in using the early warning systems to inform the panel of good governance at a state level, so that the situation does not happen in the first place," Asamoah explained.

Low COVID-19 vaccination rates still an issue

The COVID-19 pandemic — particularly the issue of vaccines — was another priority topic at the summit. Currently, only around 11 per cent of the continent's population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. While vaccine access has improved over the past year, vaccine hesitancy and a lack of information have considerably slowed progress. "Seventy percent of the population of 1.3 billion people are young people [under] 30," John Nkengasong, the Director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control (CDC) told DW . "If we don't target them, they will never get to 70 per cent of the vaccination rate target. The time has come to shift the balance and get more community engagement."

In an attempt to increase vaccination rates, the newly-established African Medicines Agency (AMA) will be responsible for regulating health systems and establishing Africa's own vaccine authorization body. This move is desperately needed, explained Nkengasong. "The continent of Africa is the only part of the world that still depends on [vaccine] approval from outside," he said.

Food insecurity and malnutrition laid bare

The theme of this year's A.U. summit was "Building Resilience in Nutrition on the African Continent." However, some observers said it still didn't receive the attention it deserves. The continent is currently grappling with multiple food security crises: From the Horn of Africa drought which has affected over 10 million people, to conflict-driven food insecurity in Ethiopia, where over 4 million people are already struggling with drought-induced water shortages.

Malnutrition rates have soared across the conflict-torn country, stressed UNICEF's Ethiopia Representative, Gianfranco Rotigliano. "Thirty-seven percent of children in Ethiopia under five are prone to acute malnutrition," he told DW . "Almost 45 per cent of all children deaths are associated with a certain degree of under-nutrition." Rotigliano added that climate changed-linked food disasters have also become more common — a fact that the A.U. should take heed of. "The [A.U.] should keep insisting for all countries to comply with actions against climate change," he said. "[It] can take political decisions to improve South-South cooperation."

The hunger crisis in Ethiopa's war-torn Tigray region was not directly addressed during the summit. However, Bankole Adeoye reiterated the bloc's call for "guaranteed humanitarian access to the areas in need," amid a severe aid shortage exacerbated by heavy bureaucracy, checkpoints and ongoing fighting.

Tigray crisis remains in the dark

The conflict between Ethiopia's federal government and Tigrayan forces in the country's north has dominated international discourse since it broke out in November 2020, with the United Nations (U.N.) warning of thousands living in famine-like conditions and denouncing a "de facto [humanitarian] blockade." However, it remains unclear to what extent the conflict itself — as well as the prospects of a ceasefire — was discussed by leaders at the summit.

A.U. special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo is currently based in Ethiopia, however his attempts to mediate the crisis have been criticized, with some observers called for a change in approach. The Ethiopian government has repeated rejected foreign interference in what it considers an internal matter, which has in turn revived calls for stronger Pan-Africanism. In the lead-up to the summit, Addis Ababa was draped with banners calling for "African solutions to African problems."

Decision on Israel observer status postponed

One issue which notably split A.U. members was the ongoing debate over Israel's accreditation as an observer state to the bloc. The move by A.U. Commission Chairman Moussa Faki to approve Israel's observer status to the A.U. is strongly opposed by some member states — notably South Africa and Algeria. In lieu of reaching a consensus at the summit, Chairman Macky Sall said a committee composed of eight heads of state was set up, with the aim of consulting with member states on the matter ahead of a vote at the next summit in 2023. "This issue can divide us," Sall told reporters on February 6. "Africa cannot be divided."