Introduction
African governments have already spent all they could on stimulus packages to respond to the economic crisis caused the COVID-19 pandemic, which amount to 1 to 7 percent of their GDP. While developed countries have deployed over USD 13 trillion to respond to the economic impact of the pandemic, Africa only managed less than USD 100 billion, leading to a deeper economic impact and undermining a high-quality recovery.
The average debt-to-GDP ratio in Africa is expected to increase significantly to over 70 percent in 2021, compared with 60 percent in 2019, especially those resource-intensive economies. In the past two decades, 18 African sovereigns have entered the international capital markets with issuance of more than 125 Eurobond instruments valued over USD 155 billion. Main drivers in African’s debt dynamics include cumulative depreciation in exchange rates, growing interest expenses, and high primary deficits. Going forward, the efficient use of debt-financed investments is an key element, while low global interest rates can present a great opportunity to use lower-cost capital to finance public investments and boost the continent’s recovery.
Without rapid and adequate respond, Africa’s resilience will shatter. It is, therefore, a shared responsibility, for global policy makers to propose robust responses to support African economies navigate the current crisis and invest in green and sustainable recovery.
unlocking finance to build forward better from COVID-19 and accelerate delivery on sustainable Development is intended :
- To identify effective measures to address the overarching challenge of mobilizing adequate and sustainable finance to invest in sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063.
- To identify and articulate the financing needs and provide high-level insights on opportunities to mobilize finance, focusing on the role of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility designed and launched by ECA and partners.
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