Africa Has to Weather Covid-19 Trauma Without Massive Stimulus

At the same time, the predominance of the informal sector could offer some protection and help African economies rebound more quickly than advanced counterparts, said Amaka Anku, Eurasia Group’s Africa head in a May 22 interview. They’re less leveraged and less interlinked, “so there’s not as much of a contagion effect,” she said. But the economic shock could still be devastating on a continent that’s home to about half the world’s poor. Many African countries are pushing for a debt standstill to free up funds to focus on supporting citizens. Even before the pandemic, rising interest costs were crowding out crucial social and health spending.