COVID-19: Almost 50 million people in Africa could endure extreme poverty - AfDB
- About 49 million Africans could end up poor due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the African Development Bank has noted
- It added that West and Central Africa are the areas likely to be worst hit by the pandemic
- The bank also noted that Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) could contract by 3.4% in 2020
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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has predicted that about 49 million Africans could be pushed into poverty due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
It added that Western and Central African countries are more likely to be hit by poverty.
The AfDB has, however, projected that the economy is likely to rebound in the year 2021.
READ ALSO: African leaders urged to implement AfCFTA; start date set for Q1 of 2021
Per a report by graphic.com.gh, it went on to say that Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) could contract by 3.4% in 2020.
YEN.com.gh understands that the figures were included in a variation of the bank’s African Economic Outlook, which was originally published before the outbreak of COVID-19.
Source: UGC
On a global scale, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that the world’s economy is likely to shrink by 4.9% instead of the 3.0% contraction that was predicted in April.
In other news, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) called for a 50% increase in transport fares nationwide, but this was rejected by the government.
At present, the government has approved a 15% increase in fares and this is expected to take effect from Saturday, 11 July.
The new rate of increase was agreed on during a meeting at which representatives of the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC), the GPRTU, and the ministry were present.
READ ALSO: COVID-19: Gov't to support manufacturing sector to achieve economic revival
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Source: YEN.com.gh
