Africa needs $285bn to tackle COVID-19 - IMF

…as Buhari seeks 30% special drawing rights for Africa

The International Monetary Fund ( IMF) has projected that African countries would require $285 billion to tackle COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the global community, in the next four years.

This is as President Muhammadu Buhari, as a strategy to shore up finance for Africa, especially the lowincome countries, has made a case for international finance institutions to approve 25 to 30 percent of unused Special Drawing Rights ( SDR) for poorer countries.

The president also called for fair distribution of the coronavirus vaccines across all countries, irrespective of region.

Buhari, while contributing to debates at the African Finance Summit in Paris, France, on Tuesday, described the 5.12 percent, or SDR 33 billion out of SDR 500 billion, approximately, $650 billion that will go to African countries, as “inadequate” to cope with the growing financial stress facing the continent.

He appealed to the French Government to support initiatives for “fair and equitable allocation of the vaccines especially for African counties, comprehensive financial support for the setting up of vaccine manufacturing in Africa, as well as achieve vaccination target in the continent.

Managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, in her contribution at the summit, however, said the African continent must be assisted by its friends to “return to the remarkable development progress witnessed before the global coronavirus pandemic”.

She noted that the situation also requires urgent response to enable the continent to take full advantage of the shifts in the global economy toward digital-driven, low-carbon and climate resilient growth.

The global pandemic had caused recession and shrunk Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 1.9 percent – the worst performance on record.

“There is urgency to focus on financing Africa. This year, we project global growth at 6 percent, but only half that3.2 percent for Africa. “This is a dangerous divergence. It ought to be the reverse”

She argued that Africa needed to grow faster than the world at the rate of 7 to 10 percent to meet the aspirations of its youthful populations, and become more prosperous and more secure.

“Yes, together we have avoided a much worse economic crisis. Now, we must build on this initial momentum to bring the pandemic to a durable end and boost growth in Africa”

She declared that Africa would need additional financing of $ 285 billion to adequately respond to the COVID through 2025.