“Times of Unprecedented Crisis Present Unique Opportunities for Unprecedented Action” - Graça Machel, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr. Vera Songwe, Maria Ramos

Abstract

COVID 19 has unearthed massive inequalities within our societies and brought to glaring light the unique burdens which women carry the world over. As we respond to the impacts of COVID 19 both in the immediate and long term, we have an unprecedented opportunity to completely redesign our ways of living with innovative and large-scale action to cater for the magnitude of the task of transforming the African continent. COVID-19 has caused massive shocks to both the informal and formal economies in Africa. World Bank's Africa's Pulse estimates that the Sub-Saharan Africa region will see significant economic decline, and plunge to between -2.1% to as low as -5.1% this year due to the Covid-19 global crisis. The region is predicted to fall into its first recession for 25 years, reversing encouraging gains over the past two decades, and 2.4% of economic growth experienced just last year alone. COVID 19 has disrupted supply chains and thrown the global food economy into disarray.