Recently, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have gradually eased epidemic prevention measures and put economic recovery plans on the agenda. Experts said that to cope with the impact of the epidemic, countries in sub-Saharan Africa need to grasp the speed and timing of reopening their economies and strike a balance between restoring economic activity and curbing the spread of the epidemic.

At present, countries in sub-Saharan Africa are taking active actions to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on their economies by adopting various policy tools, including fiscal and monetary measures. Meanwhile, they are gradually easing epidemic prevention restrictions and speeding up the resumption of work and production, with a view to promoting economic recovery as soon as possible.

An economic recovery plan is on the agenda

The South African government has resumed most business activities since June 1, and the manufacturing, mining, construction and financial services sectors have gradually resumed production. Students in grade 7 and grade 12 have returned to school as normal.

Nigeria's airports are resuming domestic flights, with those in abuja, the capital, and Lagos, the economic hub, opening first on July 8th and other cities starting on July 11th. Economic activity throughout the country has gradually resumed. The government has increased spending on key livelihood projects, including a massive agricultural programme to add 20,000 to 100,000 hectares of farmland to states and a housing programme to build 300,000 houses a year.

On July 7, Kenya lifted the travel ban in some areas such as Nairobi region and Mombasa County and restarted domestic economic activities in stages. The Kenyan government plans to resume domestic flights from July 15 and international flights from August 1.

Senegal lifted its "state of emergency" and curfew measures on 30 June and plans to gradually resume international flights beginning on 15 July. Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, Zambia and other countries have resumed commercial flights. Members of the Economic Community of West African States are expected to open their airspace on July 21.

Zimbabwe has reopened sites such as Victoria Falls to encourage local and foreign nationals working in the country to travel at a safe and social distance. Tourism authorities in Kenya and Rwanda have lowered the price of admission to national parks to attract visitors. African countries lost nearly $55 billion in tourism revenue in the last three months, according to the African Union. Tourism accounts for about 10 per cent of the gross domestic product of African countries and employs 24 million people.

Measures to reduce social impact

According to the Latest international Monetary Fund forecast, sub-Saharan Africa's economy will contract 3.2 per cent this year, down 1.6 percentage points from its April forecast, an unprecedented contraction. The STUDY by the African Development Bank concluded that the impact of the epidemic on the continent's regions and economies varies widely, and that prospects for economic recovery vary widely, with Eastern Africa likely to be the most resilient and southern Africa the most affected. The agency warned that the outbreak could push an estimated 49 million people in Africa into extreme poverty.

Many countries in the region have introduced a series of stimulus measures and relief measures. South Africa's central bank has cut its benchmark interest rate four times this year, bringing its total rate cut to 275 basis points. The South African government also launched total 500 billion rand ($1 $17 rand) of social assistance and economic support programs, through unemployment insurance funds to the unemployed personnel to provide basic life support, to the country has more than 100000 poor families to provide the food packages, more than 2 billion rand money set aside for improving informal community water and sanitation.

Nigeria has announced a 2.3 trillion naira ($6.39 billion) economic rescue package that includes tax breaks for the health sector, wage support and job creation in sectors such as agriculture. The Nigerian government also plans to set up a "survival fund" to provide financing support to smes to help them speed up their recovery. Kenyan President Ukiu Kenyatta has proposed the largest economic stimulus package since the outbreak, with a sum of 53.7 billion Kenyan shillings ($531 million), including hiring teachers to support digital learning, improving school infrastructure and repairing tourism facilities.

"To date, countries in the region have announced covid-19 related financial packages averaging 3 percent of THEIR GROSS domestic product. This effort is indispensable, but it needs to be strengthened." Abe Selassie, director of the IMF's Africa department, said countries in the region should focus on transforming their economies, creating jobs and raising living standards.

The IMF report says low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa now face difficult policy choices between whether they can afford to implement stimulus policies and how quickly they should reopen their economies. "Policymakers need to take a phased and gradual approach, carefully assessing the trade-offs between epidemic control and economic recovery, and targeting the impact of the crisis on vulnerable populations."

If economic recovery measures are well advanced and the epidemic is effectively contained in the second half of the year, the IMF expects sub-Saharan Africa's economy to rebound to a growth rate of 3.4 percent by 2021.

International cooperation has provided support for the fight against the epidemic

At present, the epidemic continues to spread in many countries in the region, especially in southern Africa. The country with the largest cumulative number of confirmed cases is South Africa, with more than 270,000 cases. The epidemic is also worsening in some countries. In response, many countries have taken new measures to strengthen prevention and control.

The South African government is stepping up its efforts to test for the virus, especially in poor urban communities. More than 2.15 million people have been tested for the virus. South Africa's Ministry of Science and Technology recently awarded r18m funding to seven local companies to develop and produce kits and related products. The University of Wits in South Africa has announced that it has begun clinical trials of the continent's first coVID-19 vaccine.

Before, only a few countries such as South Africa and Senegal had the novel Coronavirus detection capability. Today, more than 40 African countries can perform the relevant detection. In the coming months, CDC Africa plans to launch the Novel Coronavirus test for 10 million visits in Africa to quickly identify infected persons and track contacts. It will also deploy 1 million community health workers and train 100,000 health care workers on the continent.

The African Union's rotating chairman and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the unofficial launch of the African Medical Supplies Platform. The platform has a full range of masks, kits, ventilators and other anti-epidemic materials on its website, facilitating the one-stop procurement of anti-epidemic materials for African countries. "This platform will promote the establishment of a free trade zone on the African continent and provide opportunities for African businesses that have been hard hit by the epidemic." "Ramaphosa said.

International cooperation has provided important support to African countries in fighting coVID-19. For example, the IMF revised its disaster containment and Relief trust fund to provide immediate debt relief to its poorest and most vulnerable members, and doubled its emergency lending facility. Currently, 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have received approximately $10 billion in funding either through these mechanisms or through expanded access under existing projects. At the recent special Summit on China-africa Solidarity against coVID-19, China put forward a series of measures to support Africa in its fight against coVID-19, including starting construction of the Headquarters of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention before the end of this year, speeding up the construction of China-Africa friendship hospitals and cooperation between Chinese and African counterpart hospitals, and taking the lead in bringing benefits to African countries after the vaccine research and development is completed and put into use.

Under-secretary-general of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songui said the epidemic is a global challenge, and cooperation is the answer. Africa has much to gain from working with China.

Source: People.com.cn