Covid-19, the impacts of pandemic emergency on the African Economy

The impacts of Covid-19 on the African Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on many nations all over the world. These
economic, political, social impacts have created more problems for already struggling nations to
deal with. The COVID-19 pandemic in Africa has affected the Continents economy similarly to
the way nations around the world have been affected. However, though African nations have not
reached the scale of infection like the rest of the world, effects of Africa’s economy have not
gone unphased. Due to many African countries depending on other nations for tourism and trade,
the restriction on international borders, and flights have severely impacted Africa’s economy.
International flights have been suspended as well as the closure of factories and business.
African traders flying back and forth to buy goods cannot get hold of the stock they need.
Consumer spending has gone down, slowing down economic growth. A big impact COVID has
on the African economy as well are the changes and restrictions in tourism. Countries like
Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco and South Africa all heavily depend on tourism. Beaches, hotel,
heritage sites and vacation spots. All these locations that would normally generate profit for
these nations have all been put on hold due to the lockdown and COVID restrictions. The
depletion of income coming from small businesses in the continent, as well some big businesses
causes economic growth to be stagnant. The self isolation, and social distancing measures also
significantly impact on the livelihoods of many Africans. The use of markets in many african
nations is a crucial need to sustain many families. Due to the recent COVID-19 restrictions and
lockdown people are not able to rely on local produce as they did before. As a result, individuals
who depend on consistent income from selling meats, fruits, vegetables and other essentials in
the market are severely impacted. Though grocery stores are available, COVID restrictions still
apply in those areas, limiting store capacity. There has been reduced mobility of goods and
people, there has also been reduced supply channels. The economic decline due to the
The impacts of Covid-19 on the African Economy
Coronavirus will be primarily due to large contractions in South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola due
to these nations being driven by their reliance on exports of commodities whose prices have
crashed as well. This will inevitably affect Africa’s participation in trade and value chains as well
as reduce foreign financing flows. Given the limited regional market, trade with the rest of the
world is vital for Africa.