Empowering African Nations Since 1981



News Room

Why Bother With Africa?


By Dr. Julie H. Sullivan

I have the privilege of leading a not for profit organization based in Arizona that, for more than twenty five years, has had the mission of supporting African nations in their efforts to eradicate poverty, disease and inequity through self-help partnership programs.

But, to many people, Africa is little known and misunderstood. Most consider the entire continent a basket case and identify it with corruption, disease, poverty and conflict - which leads them to ask "Why bother with Africa?"

There are two parts to the answer to that question - a strategic one and a humanitarian one. Both are important.

The continent is, of course, of strategic importance in terms of energy supply. In fact, for the U.S., it is becoming as important as the Middle East as a source of supply of oil and natural gas. And we should not forget that China, India, Europe and others are all competing with the U.S. for access to energy and mineral resources in Africa.

Africa is also one of the battlegrounds in the fight against terrorism. Osama bin Laden began his operations in Sudan and terrorists attacked U.S. embassies in Africa years before the 9/11 attacks. And Africa is also the major battleground in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

So, for all those reasons and more (such as the potential of the continent to provide markets for U.S. goods and services), Africa is strategically important to the U.S. - and to other nations.

All well and good, you might say - but what about those stereotypes and clichés about corruption, disease, poverty and conflict? I can do no better than to quote Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said recently in Kenya "... such notions are not only stale and outdated; they are wrong." To be sure, progress is not apparent everywhere on the continent. But that should not lead us to turn a blind eye to the many countries where significant economic and social progress has been made.

In humanitarian terms, although Africa may be the poorest, least developed and suffering place on earth - it is also a continent where positive change can and does happen. We in the U.S. need to do all that we can to ensure that those constructive changes come about. Standing to one side and not bothering about Africa is not an option. The plight of our fellow human beings in Africa will have an important long-term impact on the world's future. Our prospects are intertwined.

This article was featured in the Arizona Republic on November 21, 2009.