April 17, 2020
PRESS OFFICER: Meera Louis
Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
As prepared for delivery
Good morning. Excellencies, Ministers of Finance, Ladies and Gentlemen—thank you for participating in this important event.
We are here today to work in partnership with Africa and to bring more attention and more resources to Africa so that the continent can overcome this unprecedented crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our world upside down, causing tragic loss of life and disrupting our social and economic order. As you will have seen from our World Economic Outlook, we anticipate the worst global downturn since the Great Depression.
For Africa, we project an economic contraction of at least 1¼ percent this year—the worst reading on record. Already weak fiscal positions will further deteriorate at a time when it is imperative to deploy fiscal policy to strengthen health systems and support vulnerable households and businesses. It is clear that without rapid and adequate international support, the crisis threatens to reverse the continent’s development gains and damage prospects for years to come.
This is the spirit of the call made a few days ago by 18 African and European leaders, among them President Ramaphosa who is with us today, President Macron, and Chancellor Merkel, under the title “Only victory in Africa can end the pandemic everywhere.”
Our meeting today on "mobilizing with Africa" is also about international solidarity and rapid action to address both the health emergency and its economic consequences in the continent. The region is hard-hit and does not have the healthcare capacity, nor the resources, to face this crisis alone. Fiscal space is limited, and fiscal financing needs to address the crisis are large—at least $114 billion for this year. Our decisive actions have helped to meet some of these needs, but there is a US$44 billion gap we must strive to close.
We have a joint responsibility to mobilizing with Africa in its fight against the pandemic and its economic fallout. Let me highlight three proposals:
Let me conclude. Working with Africa, I have no doubt that we will overcome this crisis and ensure that Africa will become the most dynamic region in the 21st Century.
