African leaders ask the UN for financial support
The coronavirus pandemic has damaged the world economy, affecting a huge number of countries and whole continents. African leaders are beating an alarm, fearing that losing jobs to millions of people could become fatal.
Quarantine has reduced production, leaving a large number of African citizens without a livelihood, which threatens economic disaster. Therefore, the leaders of a number of countries on the continent have appealed to the UN for assistance. They say that many countries have allocated huge sums of money to fight the pandemic, and Africa has no money for it.
The situation on the continent has become critical, states are asking for support from the international community, as their economy is suffering. The pandemic has launched serious processes that African heads of State cannot cope with on their own. If the world powers do not pay attention to the situation on the continent, it could lead to collapse and the development of Africa would slow down.
The continent’s market is dependent on imports and exports, and due to coronavirus these operations have declined significantly. If the situation is prolonged, the economies of many African countries will be frozen indefinitely.
According to the UN, Africa is at risk of losing up to 50% of its jobs. The airline industry, raw material exports, agriculture, services and industry will suffer the most. In the worst-case scenario, the continent would face a livelihood deficit and the consequences could be devastating.
After the UN studies, its representatives said that Africa has increased spending on health care and would need about $10 billion more. In addition, many countries on the continent have lost part of their income and it will take a long time to compensate. As a result, UNECA has appealed to world powers to support Africa. One of the priorities the organization has set aside is to preserve 30 million jobs, most of them in tourism and air travel. Against the background of the vulnerability of the continent’s economy, the current crisis could become fatal for a number of states and lead to increased poverty and other social and economic problems.
A request for financing has already been sent to the International Monetary Fund by 20 local countries. The IMF has granted requests for 2 West African states, and they will be granted loans to fight the economic downturn, which is observed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The rest of the applications are under consideration.
Strict quarantine measures have been introduced in 54 countries, resulting in a decline in production and supply constraints.
