Jill Biden will travel to Namibia and Kenya this week, her first visit to the continent since becoming first lady as the White House looks to strengthen ties with the region.
The visit, the first by a White House principal this year to sub-Saharan Africa, begins on Wednesday and will wrap on Sunday, the White House said. It comes ahead of expected visits by her husband President Joe Biden and other senior administration officials later this year.
“The purpose of her trip is to reaffirm the US government’s investments in Africa, not just in their governments, but in their people and to continue her work to empower women and young people,” a senior administration official previewing the trip said.
Another senior administration official described the trip as a “demonstration of President Biden’s commitment that the United States is all in on Africa and all in with Africa.”
The first lady will arrive Wednesday in Namibia, where “her efforts are really focused on the role of young people in continuing to shape their democracy and advance health cooperation,” one official added.
Biden then will make her way to Kenya, where food insecurity and the impact of drought in the Horn of Africa will be front and center as she aims to “draw attention to what is a dire and immediate food crisis that cannot wait for further intervention and mobilization from the international community,” the official said.
She will also meet with the first ladies of each country and engage with organizations that work on youth engagement and women’s empowerment, including issues relating to gender-based violence.
Biden visited Africa five times as second lady, including a 2011 stop at the largest refugee camp in Kenya as thousands fled Somalia. This will mark her third trip ever to Kenya and first to Namibia, making her the most senior US…
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