African countries call for $100 billion boost
LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY ELEVEN African heads of state have called for $100 billion in hardship funding to help dig their economies out of the hole caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most African nations have been spared the levels of death and infection caused by the coronavirus in other parts of the world, but lockdowns and reduced travel and trade have thrown sub-Saharan Africa into recession. The leaders met in Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan, where they produced a declaration asking for $100 billion for the period of 2022-2025 from the International Development Association (IDA), an arm of the World Bank Group…