Dismantlement of USAID Prevents US from Responding to Africa's Ebola Outbreak

 The Guardian published on 21 May 2026 an article titled "US Is 'Simply Choosing Not to Stop' Ebola Outbreak after Massive Public Health Cuts, Experts Say" by Melody Schreiber.  

Following the dismantlement of the US Agency for International Development and massive cuts in global and domestic public health efforts, the United States appears to be doing little to stem the outbreak of Ebola in central Africa.  

US Travel Restrictions Take Aim at Africa Mostly for Visa Overstays

 The White House posted on 16 December 2025 a fact sheet titled "President Donald J. Trump Further Restricts and Limits the Entry of Foreign Nationals to Protect the Security of the United States."

The United States added 15 countries to the list impacted by partial or full travel restrictions.  There are now 34 countries subject to some kind of restriction; 26 are in Africa.  The stated purpose of this policy is "to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats."  

The proclamation continues full restrictions and entry limitations of nationals from 12 "high-risk" countries.  This includes the following African countries: Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.  

It adds full restrictions and entry limitations on 5 additional countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and South Sudan.

It imposes full restrictions on 2 countries that were previously subject to partial restrictions, including Sierra Leone.

It continues partial restrictions on nationals of 4 original "high risk" countries, including Burundi and Togo.

It adds partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 new countries.  They include Angola, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Associated Press published on 16 December 2025 an article titled "Trump Expands Travel Ban and Restrictions to Include an Additional 20 Countries" by Rebecca Santana.

This article includes a map that clearly demonstrates the impact of this policy on African countries.

The New York Times published on 16 December 2025 an article titled "Trump Expands Travel Ban and Restrictions to 20 More Countries" by Tyler Pager and Hamed Aleaziz. 

The article reports that homeland security secretary Kristi Noem recommended to President Trump that he institute "a full travel ban on every damn country that's been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies."

Comment: Most of the African countries on the list are there because of "high visa-overstay rates and refusal to repatriate removable nationals" from the United States.  Visa overstay means that an individual received a visa at a US embassy overseas to be in the United States for a limited period of time, for example 3 months to visit relatives or one year to study.  They stayed longer than the allotted period, which is a violation of US law.  But it has little or nothing to do with US national security. 

The fact sheet contains some African countries that do have unusually high visa overstay rates.  But others are not especially high.  Mauritania's B-1/B-2 visa overstay rate is 9 percent.  Nigeria has a B-1/B-2 overstay rate of 6 percent and F, M, and J visa overstay rate of 12 percent.  Senegal's B-1/B-2 overstay rate is 4 percent and F, M, and J overstay rate of 13 percent.  

The US policy seems more focused on cracking down on immigration and keeping certain foreigners out of the country than US national security.  As for Kristi Noem's comment on countries in the travel ban, has America fallen to this low level?   

African Students: China Wins and US Loses

 The New York Times published on 7 June 2025 an article titled "China's Quiet Win: Outmaneuvering U.S. for Africa's Future Leaders" by Abdi Latif Dahir.  

As the Trump administration tightens restrictions for international students to enter the United States, Africans increasingly are opting to study in China, attracted by government scholarships, affordable tuition, lower living costs, and easier entry requirements.  

Trump Travel Bans in Africa Just Add to the Pain

 The New York Times published on 6 June 2025 an article titled "'A Big Slap in the Face': Africans Jolted by Trump's New Travel Ban" by Ruth Maclean and Saikou Jammeh.

Between the imposition of new tariffs and the dismantlement of the US foreign aid program, many Africans see the full travel ban on 7 countries and partial ban on 3 others as singling out Africa for punishment by the Trump administration.  Of the 19 countries globally facing new travel restrictions, just over half are in Africa.  

US Travel Ban on African Countries Another Win for China

The Washington Post published on 1 February 2020 a commentary titled "Trump's Travel Ban Expansion Is an Unexpected Win--for China" by Charles Dunst, London School of Economics.

In 2017, the Trump administration barred entry to citizens from eight Muslim-majority countries, including Libya, Somalia and Chad. (The U.S. subsequently removed Chad from the list.) Citing "information sharing deficiencies and national security risk factors," the U.S. has now expanded the list to include citizens from Nigeria and Eritrea, who can no longer apply for visas to work and live in the U.S. Sudan and Tanzania are no longer allowed to participate in the diversity visa lottery. The author concludes that these new restrictions will inevitably strain relations with the affected countries and provide another diplomatic windfall for China.

Time To Get Tough with Warring Faction Leaders in South Sudan

African Arguments posted on 12 March 2018 a commentary titled "South Sudan: Buying Off Elites To Stop Fighting Won't Work. Here Is What Might" by Daniel Akech Thiong, an independent consultant dealing with South Sudan.

The author argues that you cannot buy off warring elites in South Sudan. He calls for "emptying the fuel tank" by removing the rewards of war. This may include an arms embargo, asset freezes, and a travel ban.

Trumps Africa Comments Boon for China

National Public Radio posted on 16 January 2018 a commentary titled "Trump Insults Will Nudge African Nations Closer to China" by Ismail Einashe, a British-Somali freelance journalist.

The author said that Trump's comments disparaging Africans, along with his administration's travel ban and the threat to cut aid to African nations that voted in the UN against Trump's Jerusalem decision, send a clear message: the United States is retreating from the post-1945 international system it created, taking an "America First" position on global issues. China is steeping into the vacuum created by Trump in Africa.

US Sudan Sanctions Decision Delayed

Foreign Policy published on 12 July 2017 an article titled "Disorganized White House Blamed for Delay in Sudan Sanctions Decision" by Siobhan O'Grady and Robbie Gramer.

The White House announced it would put off any decision on extension of the partial lifting of sanctions against Sudan by an additional three months, a delay that former officials and Africa experts say reflects "chaos inside the U.S. government."

Somaliland: A Good News Education Story

CBS 60 Minutes ran a program on 30 April 2017 titled "Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Founds School in Somaliland" with Anderson Cooper.

American Jonathan Starr, a former hedge fund manager in Boston, decided in 2008 to do something different with his time and money--found the Abaarso School of Science and Technology in Somaliland. An American-style boarding school outside Hargeisa, it has been a huge success in spite of numerous obstacles. Nearly 90 percent of the first graduating class was accepted at colleges around the world. Some 40 graduates are now in American universities on academic scholarships. Students are attending, for example, Oberlin, Rochester, Yale, MIT, and Harvard.

If the Trump administration's ban on travel to the United States from Somalia, which includes Somaliland, stands, the next group of graduates may never make it to an American university.

Sudan, the US, Sanctions, and the Travel Ban

Foreign Policy published on 7 March 2017 an article titled "Sudan Is Open for Business--for Now" by Nesrine Malik.

Khartoum has not made a fuss about being included in the Trump Administration's travel ban in hope that US sanctions will be lifted on the country and normal relations reestablished with the US.

Can Sanctions Work in South Sudan?

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) published on 24 March 2016 a commentary titled "Think Again: Yes, Targeted Sanctions Can Work in South Sudan" by Simon Allison, ISS consultant.

The author makes the case that sanctions targeting individuals who have the power to alter the course of the war in South Sudan can reinforce the peace process.