Africa needs more than $200bn, suspension of debt payment to lift its economy - UN secretary-general

UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres has warned that the coronavirus pandemic threatens Africa’s progress and could push millions into extreme poverty. Guterres stated this Wednesday, saying that to help address the devastating economic and social consequences of the pandemic, Africa needed more than $200 billion and an across-theboard debt standstill for African countries unable to service their debt, followed by targeted debt relief and a comprehensive approach to structural issues in the international debt architecture to prevent defaults. In recent years, Guterres said economic growth in Africa had been strong, the digital revolution had taken hold and agreement had been reached on a free trade area. The UN chief said in a video message while launching a policy report on “The Impact of COVID-19 in Africa” that countries on the continent had responded swiftly to the crisis, and as of now reported cases were lower than feared with more than 2,500 deaths. The virus is present in all African countries with most recording fewer than 1,000 cases, the 28-page UN report said. According to Associated Press, the UN said the relatively low numbers of COVID-19 cases confirmed thus far “have raised hopes that African countries may be spared the worst of the pandemic,” the report said. “Caution is warranted, however, as these are early days in the life cycle of a disease that is still not fully understood and where we have seen repeated patterns of first slow, then exponential growth in the number of cases.” The UN said the low numbers could be linked to minimal testing and reporting, pointing to a World Health Organisation warning that the pandemic “could kill between 83,000 and 190,000 people in 47 African countries in the first year, mostly depending on governments’ responses.” WHO also warned that “the socioeconomic impacts could `smoulder’ for several years,” the report said. Guterres said “much hangs in the balance.”