Interrogating International Peace and Security in West Africa, Sahel Region after the COVID - 19 Pandemic

Kwadwo Addo Tuffuor¹, Joyce Degraft Acquah¹ and Cecilia Adjanor²*
¹Department of Peace Studies, School for Development Studies (SDS), University of Cape Coast, Ghana
²Gender officer, Department of Social Welfare
*Corresponding Author: Cecilia Adjanor, Gender officer, Department of Social Welfare.

Published: January 11, 2025

DOI: 10.55162/MCET.08.254

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Abstract  

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the world's governance, peace and security. Even though Africa was not affected like the magnitude in Europe and America, the pandemic has threatened international peace and security in the West African sub region. Political change and coup d’états in Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea, Mali and Niger have presented security challenges in West Africa. Threats by terrorists’ groups during and after the pandemic has also posed threat to human security and cooperation among countries in the ECOWAS bloc. Insecurity has increased, especially when terrorist groups have used the pandemic to cause political instability. In some countries in the sub-region, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed progress in implementing reforms and has stalled efforts by governments to provide efficient and effective services to the citizenry, invariably hampering government’s efforts at improving on the needs of the people in the region. This has been a major catalyst to the military take overs that has occurred in the West African, Sahel region worsening the already precarious situation in Africa. It is recommended amidst the negative effects that, leaders in the sub-region strengthen measures to improve on human security among member states, harness resources in the region to build robust infrastructural amenities and to improve the living conditions of the youth in order not to be recruited by armed insurgent groups to cause extreme violence.

Keywords: Peace; human security; terrorists; pandemic and Sahel

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