Africa will lose $65b to coronavirus pandemic
By Tanko Mohammed
Mr Stephen Karingi, Director, Regional Trade and Integration, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), says the African economy will lose $65 billion if there is a full lockdown of the continent due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Karingi said this during the World Health Organisation (WHO) and World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual joint press briefing on Thursday.
The director said that the African economy would contrast as much as three per cent in 2020.
According to him, an analysis done by UNECA showed that every month the African economy would lose 2.5 per cent of its GDP if a total lockdown was declared.
“Which is about 6.5 billion dollars every month based on the intensity and strictness of the lockdown; if we have a full lockdown of the whole continent, we would lose $65 billion,” he said.
According to him, reports of the 1st quarter, released by African governments, revealed a reduction in exports and lower revenue generation by governments, because of the lower activities of businesses and the economy.
He added that the speed of Africa’s recovery from the pandemic would depend on its actions to save lives and businesses, adding that without lives, there would be no businesses and income.
Karingi maintained that measures required by governments should be a smart exit from the lockdown, and ensure that numbers of COVID-19 cases decrease to prevent an economic shutdown.
Also speaking, Dr Amit Thakker, Executive Chairman, Africa Health Business and President of the Africa Healthcare Federation, said that there were three phases for Africa post COVID-19 recovery.
Thakker explained that the phases would run from 2021 to 2023, and has repair as phase one, which involves containment, vaccines, social distancing measures and hand washing.
According to him, phase two which is in 2022, would determine if Africa’s growth would be strong or decline, while phase three would be partnership and leadership to achieve progressive growth.