Building Partner Capacity in Africa

U.S. interests in Africa have expanded in the past decade beyond such traditional areas as economic development through trade and investment, democratic governance and the rule of law, and conflict prevention with an emphasis on peacekeeping and rapid response capacities. The continent is now at the center of a number of critical security issues. These issues range from the emergence of potent violent extremist movements (Boko Haram, al-Shabaab and Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), with the capacity to destabilize fragile states, to a health security agenda catalyzed by the spread of infectious disease with global impacts (e.g., Ebola and Zika viruses). For the past several years, the U.S. Government (USG), in its national security strategy and related documents, has stressed building partner capacity (BPC) as an essential military mission, especially for the U.S. Army, to counter these threats and reduce their risk to African governments and societies.