The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday said 32 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa were pushed into extreme poverty in 2020.
The Director, African Department, Abebe Selassie, disclosed this in a virtual briefing on IMF latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa.
He said based on the outlook, the region’s journey to recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic would be long and difficult, irrespective of the 2021 recovery projection by the Fund.
Policymakers must strive to deliver vaccines while restoring the health of public balance sheets harmed by the crisis. transformative reforms and renewed external support are more important than ever to rekindle the region’s growth, the IMF said.
Selassie stressed, “Sub-Saharan Africa is continuing to grapple with unprecedented health and economic crisis. Since our last assessment of the Regional Economic Outlook in October 2020, the region has confronted a second pandemic wave, which outpaced the scale and speed of the first.
“And many countries continue to face or are bracing for further waves, particularly as access to vaccines remains scant.
“The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the region’s economy. The estimated ‑1.9 percent contraction in 2020 is somewhat less severe than anticipated last October, but it is still the worst year on record.
“While the region is projected to grow by 3.4 percent in 2021, per capita output is not expected to return to 2019 levels until after 2022.
“The economic hardships have caused significant social dislocation, with far too many being thrust back into poverty. In many countries, per capita incomes will not return to pre-crisis levels until 2025.
“The number of extreme poor in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to have increased by more than 32 million. The ‘learning loss’ has been enormous, with students missing 67 days of instruction, more than four times the level in advanced economies.
“Sub-Saharan Africa will be the world’s slowest-growing region in 2021, with limits on access to vaccines and policy space holding back the near-term recovery.
“While some advanced economies have secured enough vaccine doses to cover their own populations several times, many sub-Saharan African countries are struggling to vaccinate essential frontline workers.
“Few will achieve widespread vaccine availability before 2023. And most countries in the region were not in position to mount the scale of extraordinary fiscal and monetary policy support that is helping to drive the recovery in advanced economies.
“The outlook for sub-Saharan Africa continues to face greater-than-usual uncertainty.
“While pandemic-related risks dominate, other factors such as access to external financing, political instability, domestic security, or climate shocks could jeopardize the recovery.
“More positively, faster‑than‑anticipated vaccine supply or rollout could boost the region’s near-term prospects.”
Against this backdrop, Selassie highlighted the policy priorities going forward:
“The immediate priority is to save lives. This will require more spending to strengthen health systems and containment efforts, and cover vaccine procurement and distribution.
“For most countries, the cost of vaccinating 60 percent of the population will require up to 50 percent increase in health spending, and could exceed 2 percent of GDP in some countries.
“For the international community, ensuring vaccine coverage for sub-Saharan Africa is a global public good. Restrictions on the dissemination of vaccines or medical equipment should be avoided, multilateral facilities such as COVAX should be fully funded, and excess doses in wealthy countries should be redistributed quickly.
“The next priority is to reinforce the recovery and nurture the region’s growth potential through bold and transformative reforms. These include digitalization, trade integration, competition, transparency and governance, and climate-change mitigation. Vanguard.