The Coronavirus Pandemic May Strangle Africa’s Economies, AU Predicts

Forum 3 years ago

The Coronavirus Pandemic May Strangle Africa’s Economies, AU Predicts

The coronavirus pandemic isn’t only a public health emergency, but also a major threat to the world’s economy.

From jobs to stocks, emerging markets, and thousands of businesses, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic crisis had several impacts on the global economies in the first quarter of 2020. And, unfortunately, the next several months may not bring much relief as the virus is still spreading rapidly and keeping large parts of the global economy closed.

Although so far, Africa has not suffered the death and disruptions the virus caused in countries like Italy or China, it is far from being immune when it comes to the economic impacts of it.

The African Union predicts that the vulnerable African economies may be strangled by the coronavirus crisis, leading to nearly 20 million job losses.

The report published by the African Union claims that African economies are incredibly vulnerable to external shocks, such as price increases as global supply chains break down. The AU gave two different scenarios, a “realistic” one and a “pessimistic” one, on how the economies across the continent will turn out post-pandemic.