Biden Pledges $1 Billion in Aid for Displaced Africans

U.S. President Joe Biden (C) listens during his bilateral meeting with Angola President Joao Lourenco (unseen) at the Presidential Palace in Luanda, Angola, on Dec. 3, 2024. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden has pledged more than $1 billion in humanitarian support for sub-Saharan African nations as he seeks to strengthen ties in the region to counter China’s growing influence.

Biden announced the commitment on Dec. 3 while in Angola for what is expected to be his final trip abroad as president.

“The United States continues to be the world’s largest provider of humanitarian aid and development assistance. That’s going to increase. You know, that’s the right thing for the wealthiest nation in the world to do.

“And today, I’m announcing over $1 billion of new humanitarian support for Africans displaced from homes by historic droughts and food insecurity,” Biden said, delivering remarks outside Angola’s National Museum of Slavery in Belas.

Data compiled by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre indicate that the number of displaced people across the African continent increased sixfold from 2009 to 2023, rising from 1.1 million to 6.3 million.

In Angola, some 79,000 people were displaced by natural disasters last year.

Biden’s remarks followed a bilateral meeting with Angolan President João Lourenço in the nation’s capital, Luanda.

The visit marks a first among U.S. presidents and is meant to underscore the United States’ commitment to bolstering infrastructure and development in the region.

On Dec. 4, Biden will visit Lobito to spotlight a railway project, for which the United States has committed $3 billion to counter China’s development projects across the African continent.

Once complete, the Lobito Corridor will connect the Atlantic port city to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where critical minerals for lithium batteries, such as copper and cobalt, are mined.

The initiative is meant to make it easier to export those minerals while increasing the United States’ presence and influence in Africa.

Roughly 70 percent of the world’s cobalt is sourced from Congo, and about 80 percent of the country’s cobalt mines are owned and operated by Chinese companies.

That dominance stems from a 2008 deal in which the Congolese government exchanged control of its state-controlled mining company, Gecamines, for infrastructure projects built by China.

Acknowledging that desire for development, Biden said the United States intends to expand its relationship with all African nations by “moving from patrons to partners.”

“Together, we’re engaged in a major joint project to close the infrastructure gap for the benefit of Angolans, Africans across the continent, Americans, and the world. We’ll all benefit as you benefit,” Biden said, touting the project as “the biggest American rail investment outside of America.”

Grace Hsing and Michael Zhuang contributed to this report.