News & Analysis: Economic impact
“Although the dropout rate has remained stable, repetition rates have increased significantly in Senegal. The high repetition rate is concerning, first because it translates to a lack of learning, and second because it will increase the age range of students in the next cohort.”
“With the pandemic far from over, financing conditions could shift rapidly and bring many governments knocking on the World Bank’s door for budget support. The World Bank should rethink its approach to crisis response budget support operations going forward and pursue a policy agenda that directly advances governments’ pandemic response and recovery frameworks.”
“Kenya has returned to the Global Fund for Sh3.3 billion ($31.1 million) to boost its COVID-19 response amid an ambitious vaccination plan targeting the entire adult population by the end of next year.”
“The authorities may stifle dissent but they are well aware that living conditions are increasingly harsh for Algerians suffering under the combined impact of lockdowns, business closures and inflation.”
“The airline industry in Africa recorded a passenger revenue loss of about $10.21 billion for the year 2020, with passenger numbers dropping from 95 million in 2019 to 34.7 million in 2020, representing a year-on-year decline of 63.7 percent.”
“COVID-19 has affected almost all sectors of the economy and agribusinesses, which form an important part of the economy, have not been left out. New data on the impact of the pandemic on agribusinesses in Ghana suggest it may take a little more time and support for businesses to recover from the impact of the pandemic.”
“The East African Legislative Assembly is now worried that the 2021/22 financial year budget tabled in the House is far below what is needed to accomplish the Community’s agenda and may impact DRC’s entry into the bloc.”
“The impact of COVID-19, together with other shocks such as locusts, fall armyworm and climate change, suggests the need for policymakers to be agile in their responses to multi-layered crises. The era of heightened uncertainty, volatility and complexity resulting from these multiple crises, with COVID-19 being a key turning point, calls for a fundamental change to the governance and architecture of sub-Saharan Africa’s food systems.”
COVID-19 Africa Watch talks to State Minister Yasmin Wohabrebbi about the policy response to the pandemic, the efforts to develop the digital economy, and the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
“Paid tours are what is left for the Batwa to continue their traditional ways as they did in the forest. The COVID-19 blow to tourism has greatly affected the incomes of many performers in the settlements.”
A hub for information, analysis, and the global response to COVID-19’s impact on Africa