Closing USAID Weakens American Power Globally

 The Washington Times published on 17 March 2025 a commentary titled "Closing USAID Will Weaken the Foundation of American Power" by Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator under President George W. Bush.

Elon Musk has fabricated unsubstantiated claims of fraud and program failure as he dismantled USAID, ending one of the most cost effective instruments of American influence around the world.

Challenges of Reporting COVID-19 in Ethiopia

 Ethiopia Insight posted on 24 September 2020 a commentary titled "Behind the Numbers: How the Media Covered COVID-19 in an Information Lockdown" by Yared Tsegaye, Ethiopia Insight reporter in Addis Ababa.

The author discusses the challenges of reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia when officials are reluctant to provide information beyond daily case counts.  

Combatting COVID-19 in Ethiopia

Ethiopia Insight published on 29 August 2020 a commentary titled "Containment as an Ethiopia COVID-19 Response Is Still Relevant: A Response to Daniel Hailu" by Dawd S. Siraj, University of Wisconsin. 

The author argues that increased COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and isolation of exposed contacts remains the best policy for dealing with the pandemic in Ethiopia. 

Somalia: Al-Shabaab's Attempt to Combat COVID-19

The June 2020 issue of CTC Sentinel includes an article titled "The Limits of 'Shabaab-Care': Militant Governance Amid COVID-19" by Christopher Hockey and Michael Jones, both with the Royal United Services Institute. 

Al-Shabaab has proactively established an isolation center and is issuing health advice, the latest extensions of a long-running experiment in militant governance.  The pandemic may nevertheless expose intrinsic limitations in al-Shabaab's approach to civic administration. 

The Impact of COVID-19 on Ethiopia's Food Security

The Center of Excellence International Consult in Addis Ababa published in March 2020 a report titled "The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security in Ethiopia" by Messay Mulugeta, Addis Ababa University.

Poverty and food insecurity were significant challenges in Ethiopia before COVID-19, which will only aggravate the situation unless the government and individuals take steps to mitigate the problem.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Seeks International Help to Combat COVID-19 in Africa

Project Syndicate published on 1 May 2020 a commentary titled "A Pledge for Africa" by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

To combat COVID-19 in Africa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called for a combination of debt relief, substantially raising the grant and lending ceilings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, and increasing the Special Drawing Rights of the IMF to raise $1.5 trillion.

China-Africa Race Relations after Guangzhou

Panda Paw Dragon Claw posted on 20 April 2020 a commentary titled "After Guangzhou, 3 Things Will Shape China-Africa 'Brotherhood'" by Ma Tianjie, a Chinese environmental journalist and popular blogger who tracks Chinese public opinion on current events.

The author suggested the impact of discrimination against Africans in Guangzhou during the COVID-19 pandemic on Africans and Chinese will likely be long-lasting. Guangzhou will form part of the COVID-19 experience for China and Africa. Communities on both sides can choose to go along with the downward spiral or turn it into the beginning of a difficult yet necessary conversation.

COVID-19 and China-Africa Relations

The African Leadership Centre published on 15 April 2020 a commentary titled "COVID-19 and the Conundrum of China-Africa Relations" by Barney Walsh and Hubert Kinkoh.

The authors conclude that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely strengthen China's relations with African governments and ruling elites while it deepens the fissures between African citizens and their leaders.

Ethiopia, Regional Governments, and COVID-19

Ethiopia Insight posted on 13 April 2020 a commentary titled "COVID-19 State of Emergency and the Federal Balance of Power" by Tefera Degu Addis, University of Antwerp.

The author argues that Ethiopia's declaration of a state of emergency because of the COVID-19 pandemic lacks clarity as concerns the responsibility of the federal government and the regional governments.

US and China Combat Coronavirus in Africa

The US State Department posted a press release on 27 March 2020 titled "The United States Is Leading the Humanitarian and Health Assistance Response to COVID-19."

As China ramps up its public relations campaign to demonstrate how it is supporting countries to deal with coronavirus, the United States is trying to make clear that it is providing more aid to combat coronavirus than any other country (read China). The United States has provided assistance to the following countries in Africa: Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is providing additional health assistance to the Central African Republic, DRC, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.

Unfortunately, China's smaller effort to aid countries in Africa has resulted in far more effective messaging than that from the United States.