UNDP launches initiative to support Africa respond to violent extremism

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched an initiative on Tuesday aimed at helping African countries prevent and respond to the growth of violent extremism.

The Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism in Africa; A Development Approach is a 45.7 million U.S. dollar four-year initiative which aims to address the root causes and enabling factors of violent extremism, according to a statement emailed to Xinhua.

The initiative proposes different actions across different types of countries such as those directly affected by violent extremist acts, those suffering the spillover effects and that they could be at risk.

The initiative, said the statement, will work with regional and national institutions to build trust, identify early warning signs of radicalization and potential violent extremism and design appropriate responses.

Together with partners, the program will also support disengaged members of violent extremist groups and their reintegration into society, including through rehabilitation centers and community sensitization, it added.

Violent extremism has had a devastating social and economic impact across the continent. Groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in Somalia have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes, increasing instability in the region.

Estimates show that since 2011, more than 21,000 people have been killed in over 4,000 terrorists' attacks in Africa. The operations of Boko Haram, for example, have internally displaced 1.2 million people and forced more than 200,000 Nigerians to flee to Cameroon, Chad and Niger. In Kenya, Al-Shabaab activities have resulted in an estimated 25 percent drop in the tourism sector, a vital source of jobs and income for the country, according to the UNDP.

"We must confront the issues that drive many African youths away from productive lives, and draw them to mayhem and destruction. The risk we face is not just dramatic reversals of the recent development gains in Africa but a stunting of development prospects to come," Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, UNDP Arica Director said in the statement.

The initiative is a result of expert consultations with partners including the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the Economic Community of West African States, faith groups, civil society organizations, funding partners and UN entities. Endit