Foundation For Security And Development In Africa

Address

One of the most striking features of Africa since the collapse of the Cold War has been the unprecedented scale and scope of internal crises. In West Africa, close to three million people have died in violent armed conflicts since the 1990s. More than twice those numbers of people have been dislocated from their homes. For ten years running, UN Human Development Indices show the highest poverty rates occurring in West Africa. Human rights and the rule of law are still discouragingly low.

HIV/AIDS competes with malaria and other preventable diseases in killing West Africans at an alarming rate. The easy access to illicit small arms and their misuse perpetuate lawlessness and impunity-a legacy of militarised systems of government and civil wars. The net effect of the above West African scenario is numerous and unattractive. They include; high rates of illiteracy, perpetuation of domestic violence, gender inequality, high rate of school drop-outs, electoral violence, corruption and poverty. In view of the above, FOSDA's programmes focus specifically on promoting the development of comprehensive human security programmes where issues of good governance, economic empowerment, reduction of violent armed conflicts and constitution democracies become a dominant culture in the sub-region.