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Despite having posted the lowest rate of Covid-19 infection in the world, Africa is likely to be the continent most affected by the economic impact of the Coronavirus, according to the latest report from Stratfor.
The American geopolitical intelligence and publishing company, Stratfor has indicated in its new report on the economic impact of the Coronavirus health crisis, the devastating repercussions of the pandemic on the African continent, more than the virus itself.
« The unique development of the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa suggests that the continent will have to deal with the consequences of the virus for years to come, diverting resources from long-standing health, education and infrastructure challenges »Underlines the report.
Stratfor predicts that despite low infection rates on the continent, significantly declining economic and development prospects in many African countries mean the pandemic could push 40 million Africans into extreme poverty. Falling global demand for tourism, along with falling commodity and natural resource prices, have hurt many pillars of African economies. The national GDPs of Botswana, the Republic of Congo and South Africa, for example, saw a sharp decline in 2020.
According to Stratfor, in their desire to obtain vaccines, in order to contain the spread of the virus, African countries could be diverted from their development goals, in important areas such as education and infrastructure, in favor of the health crisis , which would have serious consequences in the future. These economic struggles could also spark political tensions, which could lead to violence and ultimately a cycle where nations might struggle to recover from these setbacks.
The report highlights Kenya and South Africa as countries to watch, due to rising unemployment rates, rising prices and political tensions in the air. Africa’s relative lack of connectivity with the rest of the world explains the relatively low number of infections on the continent, according to the report, but many African countries still lag behind global targets for vaccination rates .
