U.S. President Donald Trump’s daughter and advisor Ivanka Trump paid a visit to Ethiopia and Ivory Coast last week, countries that her father described as shitholes in early 2018.
Her four-day April visit to Africa appears to be hypocritical on many levels. The White House senior advisor made the trip on official government business in what is widely seen as an administration with a damaging U.S.-Africa policy, according to Reuters.
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While the president himself has not stepped foot in Africa and has no immediate plans to do so, his daughter has been sent to promote the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative.
The $50-million global government initiative is aimed at reaching 50 million women by 2025, EWN reports.
African women face many cultural and legal barriers to full participation in the economy. A commitment of $1 for each of 50 million women may be little more than a drop in the ocean.
Trump’s inability to pronounce “Namibia” may have been an indication of his disregard for Africa, but his policies confirm that the continent is not a priority for his government.
The U.S. government recently cut important health programs to Africa, including annulling $252 million in funding for Ebola containment and prevention, TheHill reported.
In addition, the White House’s latest budget proposal has called for cuts to global foreign aid by 25 percent, which could impact Africa negatively, according to News24.
The Trump administration has also warned that non-government organizations performing or promoting abortions in Africa will be refused all U.S. government health funding, including for family planning, HIV, primary care, nutrition, and malaria, TheGuardian reports.
So Ivanka preaches women’s empowerment while her father denies women their reproductive rights.
The first daughter is no stranger to Ethiopia. The country has been home to the Chinese factory that produced Ivanka’s namesake footwear brand, NewBusinessEthiopia reported.
The Ganzhou Huajian International Shoe City Co., with a presence in Ethiopia and Nigeria, is reported to be responsible for long hours, low pay and abusive management, according to Ecadforum.
While President Trump pushed his agenda to bring manufacturing home to the U.S., Ivanka profited from shoes made by cheap labor in Ethiopia.
In July 2018, after several big-name department stores dropped the Ivanka Trump brand from their lineups, Ivanka announced that her clothing and footwear company would wind down.
