Wed 25 March 2020:
The spread of the coronavirus into sub-Saharan Africa will hit the region’s growth hard, with direct disruptions to people’s livelihoods, tighter financial conditions, reduced trade and investment and a steep drop in commodity prices, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.
In a blog posting on the IMF’s website, top officials in the Fund’s Africa Department said they have received requests for emergency financing from over 20 nations in the region and expect at least 10 more soon.
“Across the region, growth will be hit hard. Precisely how hard is still difficult to say. But it is clear that our growth forecast in April’s regional outlook will be significantly lower,” wrote Abebe Aemro Selassie, director of the IMF Africa Department and Karen Ongley, mission chief for Sierra Leone.
Meanwhile Mali confirmed its first two cases of coronavirus, the government said in a statement.
The two patients are Malian nationals, a 49 year-old woman from Bamako and a 62 year-old man living in Kayes. They arrived in the country from France on March 12 and 16, respectively.
The government said the two patients were being taken care of by the country’s health authorities.
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