Omer Ismail: 'Africa is not poor' but is 'run poorly'

By Jeff Tyson @jtyson2114 September 2015

Omer Ismail, senior adviser at the Enough Project and prominent Sudanese humanitarian and activist, talks with Devex about how to approach conflict resolution and development assistance in Africa.

Omer Ismail came to his role as an activist and conflict expert not by choice, but through experience. Raised in Darfur, Sudan, Ismail became a refugee after his political views forced him to leave his home country in 1989. Now, as senior adviser at the Enough Project, Ismail studies the economies of war and advocates for peace.

In this video interview, Ismail calls on the international community to recognize Africa’s richness and think about ways to help African leaders better use their resources for peace and prosperity.

Conflict in Context is a monthlong global conversation on conflict, transition and recovery hosted by Devex in partnership with Chemonics, Cordaid, Mercy Corps,OSCE and USAID. We’ll decode the challenges and highlight the opportunities countries face while in crisis and what the development community is doing to respond. Visit the campaign site and join the conversation using #ConflictinContext.

About the author

Jeff Tyson@jtyson21

Jeff is a global development reporter for Devex. Based in Washington, DC, he covers multilateral affairs, U.S. aid and international development trends. He has worked with human rights organizations in both Senegal and the United States, and prior to joining Devex worked as a production assistant at National Public Radio. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and French from the University of Rochester.