Advisory Note: COVID-19 Interventions for African Countries
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Advisory Note: COVID-19 Interventions for African Countries
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By The Africa Unusual Working Group
April 1, 2020
COVID-19 has, in less than three months, infected over half a million people, torn apart families and societies, destabilized economies, and disrupted global value chains. This is in many ways an unprecedented global health crisis, which has presented a unique set of problems that governments and business leaders have never previously encountered. For African countries, this virus is expected to overwhelm already insufficient healthcare facilities and reverse the economic growth that many countries have been experiencing in recent years. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has revised Africa’s growth downwards from 3.2% to 2%. In addition to this, a significant majority of Africa’s jobs - 80% of which are in the informal sector - cannot be conducted remotely, posing an additional challenge for governments to contend with. It is projected that African economies will need a stimulus of $100 billion to mitigate the economic effects of this virus. This does not even take into consideration its psycho-social ramifications.
Times such as these call for rapid decision-making, coupled with innovative and effective solutions to be able to address continually evolving challenges. African governments should be able to draw on best practices and effective strategies implemented by their neighbors and global counterparts, while also taking into account local particularities to tailor each solution to reflect the country’s context.
This brief focuses on four key areas of concern, focusing on short-term interventions that can be implemented by governments to minimize the harm caused by this pandemic. These four areas are:
Humanitarian assistance - what can High Networth Individuals (HNWI) and the private sector do?
Ensuring business continuity for African firms, particularly SMEs
Good governance practices in times of crisis
Developing effective, broad-based communication strategies
Highlighting key challenges and possible solutions, the purpose of this brief is to draw attention to potential solutions that the African private and public sectors could adopt in combating this virus.
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This brief was wprepared by Isaac Kwaku Fokuo Jr. (Founder, Botho Emerging Markets Group), Biola Alabi (Founder, Biola Alabi Media), Marcia Ashong (Founder, TheBoardroom Africa), Ada Osakwe (Founder, Nuli), Ory Okolloh (Managing Director, Luminate Group), Lai Yahaya (Energy, Infrastructure and Development Adviser), Mohamed El Dahshan (Founder, OXCON), Eric Kacou (CEO, Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners), Elizabeth Howard (Ag. CEO, Africa Crowdfunding Association), Kwame Asiedu (Democracy & Development Fellow in Health, CDD‐Ghana), Aparupa Chakravarti (Director, Botho Emerging Markets Group), Bathsheba Asati (Research Associate, Botho Emerging Markets Group).
These professionals are committed to using their experience and wherewithal towards supporting the fight against the pandemic within Africa. This document draws on their combined expertise and global best practices that have proven effective thus far in combating COVID-19.