The African continent will need at least $ 1.2 trillion (more than 1 trillion euros) over the next three years to absorb the economic damage and health costs of the corona crisis. IMF chairman Kristalina Georgieva reported this on Friday.
As in other parts of the world, Africa is hard hit by the corona crisis. The corona outbreak has ended years of strong economic growth on the continent. Unemployment is on the rise and household incomes have fallen by 12 percent in recent months, according to Georgieva. According to the World Bank, 43 million Africans are at risk of falling into extreme poverty due to the crisis.
To mitigate the damage from the corona crisis, African countries spent an extra 2.5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) this year. High indebtedness has even forced some countries to choose between paying back debts and ramping up health and social spending as benefits.
More than 1.5 million corona infections have now occurred on the continent, resulting in approximately 37,000 deaths. “The pandemic is not over until it is over everywhere,” said IMF head Georgieva on Friday. “Each of us, both countries and institutions, must do more to help Africa through the next phase of the corona crisis.”
NU.nl/Reuters
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