Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank
ABIDJAN, July 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said that 49 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty by the coronavirus pandemic
The AfDB said that West and Central Africa stand to be most hit by the economic slump.
The bank projects that the economy will rebound from the pandemic slump in 2021.
The AfBD forecasts a 3.4% contraction in gross domestic product in 2020.
The figures were included in a revision of the AfDB’s African Economic Outlook, which was originally published before the pandemic.
Africa’s big economies like South Africa and oil exporters like Nigeria, Angola and Algeria have been badly hit by the virus.
Lockdowns enforced in different countries have crippled economies and left many jobless.
The global economy has generally been affected by the pandemic with the International Monetary Fund last month projecting that the world’s economies will shrink by 4.9%, compared with a 3.0% contraction predicted in April.
African economies have not been immune to the pandemic’s global shockwaves, with oil exporters such as Algeria, Angola, Libya and Nigeria on track to witness the continent’s sharpest declines in economic output.
Under a scenario in which the pandemic continues into the second half of this year, the AfDB forecasts a 3.4% contraction in the gross domestic product in 2020 – compared with a pre-pandemic projection by the Abidjan-based bank of growth of 3.9%.
The figures were included in a revision of the AfDB’s African Economic Outlook, which was originally published before the pandemic.
A partial V-shaped recovery should see growth rebound to between 2.4 and 3% next year, the bank said.
“But the projected recovery in 2021 would not make up for an estimated cumulative loss to Africa’s GDP of $173.1–$236.7 billion for 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic,” the report said.
A rebound is threatened by risks including a potentially worsening pandemic, subdued commodity prices, volatile global financial conditions and even natural disasters such as the locust infestations that have ravaged East Africa this year.
International Monetary Fund slashed its 2020 global output forecast last month, projecting the world’s economies will shrink 4.9%, compared to a 3.0% contraction predicted in April.
The European Commission forecast on Tuesday that the eurozone economy will drop deeper into recession this year and rebound less steeply in 2021 than previously thought. — NNN-AGENCIES