How U.S. Election Results Could Reshape Africa's Future

The election of the next U.S. president, whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, will most likely have impacts on other economies, foreign conflicts, and personal freedoms, analysts told VOA.

South African independent political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng said the winner could usher in policies that affect ordinary people in Africa. Given Trump's "America first" policy, analysts think Harris and Trump would differ on trade as well. There is hope that the U.S. will renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which gives African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market.

A particularly divisive issue has been the issue of abortion, as during his presidency, Trump cut U.S. funding for global reproductive health programs and extended a policy banning U.S. aid to groups that support abortion. Experts believe that a second Trump presidency would likely do that again and could negatively affect PEPFAR, the U.S.'s key HIV/AIDS program.

Other analysts said they believe general U.S. policy toward Africa won't differ radically regardless of who wins. They said Africa was often neglected in U.S. foreign policy but that has shifted during renewed competition with Russia and China on the resource-rich continent.