Round table 1: policies and interventions to foster resilience and reduce poverty and inequality amid global shock

Abstract

Over the past three years, Africa has faced a perfect storm of three overlapping crises or shocks, namely the repercussions of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the armed conflict that erupted in Ukraine in early 2022, and a series of severe natural disasters. Those shocks have pushed ever more people into extreme poverty and exacerbated inequality, both of which were pronounced in Africa even prior to the pandemic. Africa is falling further behind other global regions and now accounts for the largest share of the world’s poor, while high levels of inequality remain a persistent challenge across the continent.