UN Launches 2023 Economic Report on Africa

The 2023 Economic Report on Africa has called for new approaches for African countries to address the challenges of global economic shocks.

The report, launched by the United Nations, also recommends structural transformation for sustainable growth and Resilience

It is no longer news that COVID-19 had a major economic impact on Africa

The capacity of Africa to overcome the pandemic-induced setback was exacerbated by the Russian Invasion of Ukraine, taking a toll on food prices.

The report- ‘Building Africa’s Resilience to Global Economic Shocks,’ jointly published by the African Union Commission, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Development Bank and UNDP tells why Africa is not on course with achievements of SDG 2030 and AU agenda 2063

The report also says there’s a need to transform primary commodities to help build Resilience on the continent and encourage inter-Africa trade in food commodities to reduce dependence on imported foods

The impact of climate change was highlighted as part of the challenges to building Resilience, as it breeds political tension and instability, especially in West Africa

Another factor identified was the rising public debt.

The report shows that Africa was already facing a looming debt crisis before the pandemic, which reduced the continent’s ability to hedge the effects of the shocks

It recommends the need to curb capital flight, currently, Africa loses about 40 billion dollars annually to this, an amount that surpasses the money owed to external creditors and enough to unlock Africa’s Economic Resurgence.