Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday in Ghana that the U.S. will provide Ghana and four other West African nations $100 million to combat violent extremism and instability.
Harris began a week-long, three-nation African tour in Accra, the latest in a string of visits by senior U.S. officials to challenge Chinese and Russian influence.
“President Biden and I have made clear the United States is increasing its connections throughout the continent of Africa,” she said during a press conference with Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo.
China has invested extensively in Africa in infrastructure, mining, lumber, and fisheries during the last two decades, while Russian private military contractor Wagner Group provides security support in numerous nations.
Wagner’s presence in West Africa worried Akufo-Addo again.
“It creates the very real risk… that once again our continent is going to become the playground for great power confrontation,” he remarked beside Harris.
West African and Sahel countries have struggled to stop Islamic insurgencies that have produced humanitarian disasters and dissatisfaction, contributing to Mali and Burkina Faso military coups.
“We admire your leadership in reaction to recent democratic backsliding in West Africa,” Harris told Akufo-Addo.
She announced $100 million for Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo to combat violent extremism and instability.
Harris’s office said the U.S. will provide Ghana with $139 million in bilateral aid in 2024.
Harris visits Tanzania and Zambia after Ghana.
