AFRICAN nations need $424 billion this year to help them cope with the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the head of the continent’s top multilateral lender.
After decades of progress in the continent’s fight against poverty, Covid-19 plunged 30 million Africans into “extreme poverty” in 2020.
Meanwhile, Russia’s war on Ukraine has fueled inflation and left millions hungry. Surging prices along with slowing economic growth are also increasing indebtedness in the region.
“We should not minimise the impact of Covid-19 on African economies,” Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio.
“We have to expand the fiscal space for African countries. Secondly, we must tackle the whole issue of debt, you cannot run up a hill while carrying a backpack of sand on your back.”
From Ghana to Zambia, multiple African nations have tapped the International Monetary Fund to help
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