Governance
Increasing Humanitarian Assistance to Africa By Eliza Browning
CONGRESSMAN GREGORY MEEKS, WHO became the chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee in December 2020, vowed to bolster the U.S. Foreign Service in sub-Saharan Africa. Meeks, the first Black lawmaker to fill the role, will be influential in shaping U.S. foreign policy. He is a strong supporter of increasing diplomatic, humanitarian and commercial activities in the region. Through increasing humanitarian assistance to Africa, Meeks hopes to put it on the “front burner” of foreign policy and to dispel tensions throughout the continent. “My goal is to reset the United States’ relationship with Africa by focusing on shared challenges, expanding peopleto-people relationships and exchanges, developing partnerships to increase youth participation in the digital workforce, and championing a more robust presence across the continent,” Meeks said about 64
March-April 2021
his vision for the U.S.-Africa relationship.
New Policies Federal engagement with Africa has stagnated. The assistant secretary of African affairs, the top ambassador post to the region, remained vacant for almost two years under the Trump Administration. Meeks hopes to change this oversight by redefining America’s foreign policy. His role on the committee will enable him to influence new legislation in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Additionally, he will oversee foreign policy programs on trade, treaties, military actions, humanitarian aid and arms control. Meeks hopes to work collaboratively to encourage the autonomy of the African economy and African trade and increase humanitarian assistance to Africa for those most in need.
DAWN
www.africabusinessassociation.org