‘COVID-19 drove Africa to 1st recession in 30 years’
MUCH of Africa may have been spared the death toll that COVID-19 brought to other regions, but it now faces recession, growing violence and higher unemployment because of the pandemic, a report said released yesterday. "The global economic shutdown has driven Africa into recession for the first time in 30 years, with severe repercussions for unemployment, poverty, inequalities and food insecurity," said the 2021 Ibrahim Forum Report. It was released ahead of the annual conference this weekend of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which promotes good governance in Africa. African countries implemented strict travel restrictions and robust contact tracing when the…