“International credit-rating agencies perennially assign overinflated risks to Africa, irrespective of its improving macroeconomic fundamentals or the global economic environment. These ‘perception premiums’ are one of the region’s biggest development challenges.”
“Such an unprecedented global undertaking requires strong cooperation, including financial support. Yet the urgency should be clear to all. As long as COVID-19 persists at high rates of transmission anywhere in the world, the pandemic will continue to disrupt global production, trade, and travel, and will also give rise to viral mutations that threaten to undermine previously acquired immunity from past infections and vaccinations.”
“In the post-pandemic period, African governments will need to invest even more in expanded digital access, climate resilience, and green growth. Given these needs, a standard SDR allocation will not be nearly enough to alleviate Africa’s current plight.”
“Over the past decades, two major crises have disrupted our societies and weakened our common policy frameworks, casting doubt on our capacity to overcome shocks, address their root causes, and secure a better future for generations to come.”
“Much of the conventional wisdom about how governments should manage the COVID-19 economic fallout is perfectly appropriate for advanced economies, but dangerous elsewhere. Even if developing and emerging economies could simply borrow and spend more to weather the storm, doing so could jeopardize their long-term economic prospects.”
“While the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting the continent hard, strategies such as asset recycling, continued digitalization, and stronger regional integration can help ensure that Africa is strong enough to fight back.”
“The continent’s pandemic-response funding gap is likely to amount to some $100 billion annually over the next three years. The international community – especially the G7, the G20, and multilateral development banks – must take bold, innovative, and expeditious action to close it.”
“Despite apocalyptic predictions, Africa may be better positioned than many think to weather the combined shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, collapsing commodity prices, and global economic recession, assuming its leaders act wisely. While African economies’ performance has varied, overall progress during the last two decades has made the continent more resilient than ever before.”
“Education is one of the largest and most consequential government activities in Africa, and policymakers and aid agencies ignore it at the continent’s peril. Indeed, by continuing to support education during the pandemic, governments can strengthen their countries’ immediate COVID-19 response and long-term recovery.”
“African governments urgently need additional external financing to help them mitigate the pandemic’s economic impact. And with global interest rates as low as they are now, it is hard to think of a more opportune time to make such a commitment to Africa.”
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