Presents the US government's view of conflict in Africa and presents a summary of government plans for assisting African conflict management in the future. Historically, most emergency responses have been to drought but now more complex disasters rooted in domestic conflict and political instability have become important. Poverty and food insecurity are seen as both a root cause and barrier to prevention and mitigation since many countries are too poor to address the social and economic problems they face. Sustained economic growth and development is seen as the single most important component of long-term conflict prevention. Ethnicity and religion often serve as means to mobilize the disenfranchised and poor in conflict rural situations. Lessons learned from conflict development and mitigation in Africa include: