{"id":16933,"date":"2022-07-04T10:11:54","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T10:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19"},"modified":"2022-07-04T11:05:17","modified_gmt":"2022-07-04T11:05:17","slug":"africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19","title":{"rendered":"Africa needs debt relief to fight COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. <\/strong><\/span><a name=\"start-reading\"><\/a>Faced with an urgent need to provide Africa with financial aid to help it to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, eight leading African political and economic figures are calling for an immediate suspension of debt payment.<br \/>\nAfter a slow start, COVID-19 has spread increasingly rapidly throughout Africa, with more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;who.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;int\/docs\/default-source\/coronaviruse\/situation-reports\/20200407-sitrep-78-covid-19.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;pdf?sfvrsn=bc43e1b_2\">7,000 confirmed<\/a> cases and 294 deaths across 45 countries and two territories as of 7 April.<br \/>\nUnless the continent urgently receives more assistance, the virus will continue to cut a deadly and remorseless path across it, with ever grimmer health and economic consequences.<br \/>\nAs an essential first step, therefore, we call for immediate debt relief for African countries in order to create the fiscal space governments need to respond to the pandemic.<br \/>\nAfter all, combatting COVID-19 is more challenging in Africa than in other parts of the world. Access to quality health care across the continent remains limited, despite some countries\u2019 recent progress.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/datacatalog.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;worldbank.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;org\/dataset\/world-development-indicators\">One-third of Africans <\/a>cannot wash their hands regularly, because they lack access to clean water.<\/p>\n<p>But the key challenge is the availability of resources. Lack of refrigeration to store perishable foods or medicines makes it hard for most households to comply with stay-at-home orders.<\/p>\n<p>And many millions of workers\u2019 livelihoods are in jeopardy because they have limited access to broadband connectivity, telework, or other opportunities to maintain basic incomes.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, African governments are responding to COVID-19 with determination, including by instituting states of emergency, requiring physical distancing, imposing forced quarantines, and restricting travel and public gatherings.<\/p>\n<p>And private sector firms, civil society groups, and grassroots movements are joining the fight any way they can. For its part, the African Union, to ensure synergy and minimize duplication, has adopted a joint continental strategy and established a task force to coordinate the efforts of member states and partners. The World Health Organization also is showing resolve to assist African governments. But the key challenge is the availability of resources.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;uneca.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;org\/stories\/communiqu%C3%A9-african-ministers-finance-immediate-call-100-billion-support-and-agreement-crisis\">Africa needs an initial $100bn<\/a> in financial support, because sharp declines in commodity prices, trade, and tourism -a direct result of the pandemic \u2013 are causing government revenues to dry up fast.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, investor pullback from risky assets has pushed up the cost of borrowing in financial markets, limiting viable options for resource mobilization.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, therefore, the average fiscal support package announced by African governments so far amounts to a meager<a href=\"https:\/\/www.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;uneca.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;org\/stories\/communiqu%C3%A9-african-ministers-finance-immediate-call-100-billion-support-and-agreement-crisis\"> 0.8% of GDP<\/a>, one-tenth the level in advanced economies.<\/p>\n<p>And, beyond the near term, the continent\u2019s additional financing needs could rise to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;un.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;org\/en\/africa\/osaa\/statements\/statement1.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;shtml\">$200bn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>True, international and other regional institutions are stepping in to complement national efforts. The African Development Bank recently issued a $3bn \u201cFight COVID-19\u201d social bond, while the African Export-Import Bank has set up a $3bn credit facility.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, <a href=\"https:\/\/g20.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;org\/en\/media\/Documents\/G20_Extraordinary%20G20%20Leaders%E2%80%99%20Summit_Statement_EN%20(3).&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;pdf\">the G-20 recently called<\/a> for a coordinated collective response to assist the world\u2019s most vulnerable countries, pledged to provide immediate resources on a voluntary basis, and instructed finance ministers and central-bank governors to develop an action plan.<\/p>\n<p>International organizations\u2014including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United States Agency for International Development, the Global Fund, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance\u2014have all announced programs to support developing countries.<\/p>\n<p>And the high uptake of these schemes by African governments illustrates the resource shortages they face. These efforts notwithstanding, however, global action and support for Africa to date have not gone far enough. We therefore strongly support the urgent call by the IMF and the World Bank for bilateral debt relief for low-income countries.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, we believe that this should be matched by parallel treatment regarding private and commercial debt, which now accounts for a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;brookings.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/africa_sovereign_debt_sustainability.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;pdf\"> significant share<\/a> of many African countries\u2019 external debt.<br \/>\nThe COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the extent of our interconnectedness, reminding us of how closely the fates of all countries are intertwined. Because time is of the essence, we call for a two-year standstill on all external debt repayments, both interest and principal.<br \/>\nDuring this standstill, the G-20 should task the IMF and World Bank with undertaking a comprehensive debt sustainability assessment and considering further debt restructuring, where appropriate, to preserve or restore debt sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>Debt relief should also extend to middle-income countries that currently are experiencing capital flight and unsustainable debt burdens. Assessments of these economies\u2019 debt sustainability must go beyond the debt-to-GDP ratio and also consider the ratio of debt-service payments to government revenue.<br \/>\nSeveral middle-income countries currently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;brookings.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/africa_sovereign_debt_sustainability.&lt;br&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;pdf\">spend 20%<\/a> or more of their revenues on debt service, which crowds out much-needed health, education, and infrastructure expenditures.<br \/>\nWith the benefit of immediate debt relief, African governments should focus on protecting vulnerable populations and bolstering social safety nets. And, like governments elsewhere, they should also support the private sector, especially small and medium size enterprises.<\/p>\n<p>That includes paying these firms\u2019 arrears, and ensuring minimal disruption to the flow of credit, in order to avoid a deeper and more prolonged banking and economic crisis.<br \/>\nSuch measures will help to preserve jobs. Without them, Africa could face an unprecedented human and economic catastrophe that could morph into even costlier political and social instability.<br \/>\nThe COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the extent of our interconnectedness, reminding us of how closely the fates of all countries are intertwined. The global health system is only as strong as its weakest link: Success in combating the pandemic in any country will be short-lived until every country succeeds.<br \/>\nBeyond the immediate responses, therefore, the pandemic and its economic fallout highlight the longer-term efforts needed to strengthen Africa\u2019s health systems, diversify its economies, and broaden domestic revenue sources. Achieving these goals matters not just for the continent, but for the entire world.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\">Lesotho<\/a> Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/\">Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Lesotho. Faced with an urgent need to provide Africa with financial aid to help it to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, eight leading African political and economic figures are calling for an immediate suspension of debt payment. After a slow start, COVID-19 has spread increasingly rapidly throughout Africa, with more than 7,000 confirmed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":16932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,8,16],"tags":[233,246,314,245],"class_list":["post-16933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-lesotho","tag-african","tag-lesotho"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Africa needs debt relief to fight COVID-19 - Lesotho<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Faced with an urgent need to provide Africa with financial aid to help it to cope with the c ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Africa needs debt relief to fight COVID-19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Faced with an urgent need to provide Africa with financial aid to help it to cope with the c ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lesotho\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-04T10:11:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-04T11:05:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_7-62c2c943c7cd8.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"732\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"419\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Africa needs debt relief to fight COVID-19\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-04T10:11:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-04T11:05:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19\"},\"wordCount\":944,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/sites\/62\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_7-62c2c943c7cd8.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Lesotho\",\"African\",\"Lesotho\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"homepage-english\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/lesotho\/all-news\/africa-needs-debt-relief-to-fight-covid-19\",\"name\":\"Africa needs debt relief to fight COVID-19 - 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