Africa’s coronavirus safety nets cannot cover all

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This article argues that many African countries moved rapidly to curb the initial spread of coronavirus, but they have been slower to cushion their citizens from its economic impact.   Read more

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Covid-19 in Africa: The good news and the bad

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There is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic will lead to enormous changes for countries in both Africa and the world. What might a post-Covid-19 Africa look like? In this article, the authors are starting to glimpse the shape of the continent to come — and it’s not all bad news (although there is plenty of that).   Read more

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Gender and Socio-Economic Impact Assessments of COVID-19 Pandemic in Juba Municipality, South Sudan

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In partnership with UNDP- PaCC Project, the University of Juba Technical Multi-Disciplinary Sub-Committee on COVID-19 pandemic response conducted a rapid assessment to determine the  gender and socio-economic impact of the disease on South Sudanese. The novel COVID-19 pandemic has infected over three million people, with over two hundred thousand deaths globally. With  a weak and fragile health system, the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic is likely going to inflict heavy social-economics and human pain.  

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South Sudan’s food imports in the time of COVID-19

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The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) of 2020 is likely to have profound effects on stressed food systems in already hungry countries. Even before South Sudan reported its first COVID-19 case at the beginning of April, media reports indicated that the pandemic had led to restrictions on the movement of goods from neighbouring countries, which affected prices in markets across the country. In Juba, the price of a kilogram of maize flour increased from 159 South Sudanese…

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Somali communities face dropping remittances and wider economic impact amid COVID-19 crisis. A warning from activists, aid workers & academia

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This brief, signed by over 100 activists, aid workers and academics, addresses the potentially huge economic impact of reduced remittances on vulnerable communities in Somalia/Somaliland and provides recommendations for the international community and Somali officials on how to address these challenges.   Download

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The Covid-19 Response in Africa

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This blog post by the British Foreign Policy Group argues that the African continent’s healthcare systems and responses are coping better than expected, and that it is instead in the economic and social domain that Covid-19 will have its most damaging and lasting effects. In recovering from a crisis of this magnitude, African and  more developed nations alike will require strong state intervention to recover. They therefore ask the UK government to prioritise support in…

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“COVID-19 is like a death sentence to women in South Sudan; after years of conflict, it is taking away our plans”

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“Since a COVID-19 case was declared in South Sudan, I have not been myself. I was worried. How will we survive without our farm work? Only God knows how long it will take to stop this dangerous disease”, says 45-year old Elder Atim, a farmer. At least 95 percent of the people in South Sudan are dependent on farming, fishing, and herding for food and income to meet their daily needs, according to the Food…

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To help respond to Covid-19, African governments should prioritise taxing the rich

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So far, policy discussions about tax responses to Covid-19 have focused overwhelmingly on how to offer immediate tax relief. There is a clear sequence in these discussions: tax relief today, expanded revenue collection in the future to compensate. This blog explores a less conventional argument: that African governments may want to think much more immediately about sustaining—and even expanding—taxation of rich individuals in particular. It outlines the arguments for this strategy and examines the nuts…

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People in poverty bear the brunt of Covid-19, and the worst is yet to come

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In this blog post, Keetie Roelen argues that poverty puts people at greater risk of getting infected with coronavirus, and also makes them carry the brunt of its economic fallout. This transcends traditional boundaries of the ‘Global South’ and ‘Global North’ with consequences felt by people living in precarious conditions across the globe. The much-repeated meme that the virus doesn’t discriminate suggests a false sense of equality, while in fact Covid-19 lays bare and reinforces…

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African countries are leading the way on preventing Covid-19 debt crises

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In this comment, Jesse Griffiths argues that to avoid a devastating debt crisis across the developing world sparked by Covid-19, debtor countries will have to stand together and negotiate hard with creditors to agree necessary debt standstills, restructurings and debt cancellation. Promising signs are emerging that African countries are beginning to provide this necessary leadership. This week, G20 leaders agreed to suspend debt repayments for 76 of the world’s poorest countries until the end of…

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