Policy Options in a Post-COVID-19 Africa

A COVID-19 policy response framework to recover and adapt.

COVID-19 is leaving no country unaffected. The global scale of the pandemic is affecting trade, capital flows, tourism and remittances, while lockdown or other measures to contain the spread of the virus are affecting domestic output and livelihoods. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where most economies were in a precarious position prior to COVID-19, is likely to be hit particularly hard. The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimates that, at best, Africa’s average GDP growth for 2020 will drop by 1.4 percentage points, with the worst-case scenarioseeing Africa’s economy contracting by up to 2.6% and real per capita GDP dropping by 3.9%. The result is an estimated 5 million to 29 million people being pushed below the extreme poverty line, erasing five years of poverty reduction gains.