There is no simple exit strategy for each African state. However, the UNECA report has prioritized the need to ensure that there are sound governance strategies that are put in place to respond to COVID-19.
The corona virus has demonstrated that we can do many things that seemed impossible before. We are now allowed to think it is possible to contemplate a different set of rules and norms. There is a dramatic return to Keynesian policies by those who once kept at arm’s length what they considered a sin: to recognize public services as public goods that are to be properly funded. Treating them as investments in social capital instead of as liabilities. There is now a recognition that the key role of the state is back.
While COVID-19 is a global challenge, Africa is especially vulnerable to the associated economic disruptions.
COVID-19 may have started as a public health emergency, but at this stage, the measures taken to contain the crisis have developed into an economic crisis, that has more of an impact on people’s livelihoods than the virus itself.
African governments face a challenging dilemma, finding the optimal balance between the need to contain the virus by limiting direct social-contact, protecting the economy and ensuring that people’s basic needs are met. It is becoming clear that the lockdowns most African governments have adopted to contain the virus are having a disproportionate impact on the poor and most vulnerable in our societies.
With a large proportion of people self-employed, the COVID-19 social distancing and self-isolation measures introduced in many African countries are having an immediate negative economic impact on livelihoods and food security.