The President of Rwanda Paul Kagame has said that Africa might require a generation or more to fully recover from the shocks of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with the UK Financial Times, the Rwandan leader said African countries will need billions of dollars in foreign support to rebuild their economies.
According to him the continent would need at least $100bn in foreign support to ensure that it stands firmly once more.
Mr Kagame however said he was confident progress could be made after a “good engagement” from “partners such as France, Germany, China and the US”.
Africa has confirmed over 21,000 Covid-19 cases so far and is yet to hit a peak with the World Health Organization warning the virus is likely to kill at least 300,000 people in Africa.
The global body also said the pandemic could also push nearly 30 million people into poverty over the next 3 to 6 months.
The UN says Covid-19 likely to kill over 300k people in Africa
Millions to lose jobs
The African Union early this month said that its latest study shows that about 20 million people are at risk of losing their jobs in Africa this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The AU study also revealed that the continent’s economies would shrink in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
About 15% of foreign direct investment into Africa could disappear this year and commodities imported could become scarce skyrocketing cost of products.
Exports and imports are projected to also drop at least 35% from 2019 levels, incurring a loss in the value of trade of around $270 billion.
Africa’s oil producers will be among the worst hit, with Nigeria and Angola alone losing $65 billion in income.
The World Bank has also warned that Africa will slip into recession for the first time in 25 years, due to a deep in global trade and commodity prices continue to fall.
Just before the pandemic (GDP) growth for Africa was projected to reach 3.4% this year by the African Development Bank.
AU appoints envoys for covid-19 economic support mobilization
Global auditing firm McKinsey & Company’s has also estimated that Africa would lose up to $200 billion in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Already African Airlines have reportedly lost $400m due to suspension and cancellation of flights to and from China since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Source: Africafeeds.com
