The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded forecasts for Nigeria’s recovery in 2021 to 1.5 percent, 0.2 percent lower from its earlier projection of 1.7 percent made in October 2020.

IMF however retained its 2.5 projection growth for Nigeria in 2022.

The IMF made the new projection known in its World Economic Outlook (WEO).

The new report, titled ‘Policy Support and Vaccines Expected to Lift Activity,’ said even though the recent vaccine approvals have raised hopes of a turnaround in the pandemic later this year, renewed waves, and new variants of the virus pose concerns for the outlook.

For Africa, IMF, projected that in sub-Saharan Africa, growth will strengthen to 3.2 percent in 2021 and 3.9 percent in 2022.

“Amid exceptional uncertainty, the global economy is projected to grow 5.5 percent in 2021 and 4.2 percent in 2022,” it said.

“The 2021 forecast is revised up 0.3 percentage point relative to the previous forecast, reflecting expectations of a vaccine-powered strengthening of activity later in the year and additional policy support in a few large economies.

“The projected growth recovery this year follows a severe the collapse in 2020 that has had acute adverse impacts on women, youth, the poor, the informally employed, and those who work in contact-intensive sectors. The global growth contraction for 2020 is estimated at -3.5 percent, 0.9 percentage point higher than projected in the previous forecast (reflecting stronger-than-expected momentum in the second half of 2020).”

The IMF noted that the strength of the recovery is projected to vary significantly across countries, depending on access to medical interventions, the effectiveness of policy support, exposure to cross-country spillovers, and structural characteristics entering the crisis.

According to IMF, Africa ‘needs $1.2tn’ to recover coronavirus losses

The economic damage as well as the health costs caused by coronavirus has left Africa needing $1.2tn (£920bn) over the next three years, the International Monetary Fund has said.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the world “must do more to support Africa to [recover]… from this crisis”.

Africa has had fewer Covid infections and deaths than most other continents.

But the World Bank says 43 million more Africans are at risk of extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic.

The economic impact is reversing the trend in recent years of strong growth in Africa, as jobs have been lost and family incomes have been reduced by 12%, Ms Georgieva told a virtual IMF meeting.

To help soften the blow, many African governments have introduced mitigation policies which have cost 2.5% of GDP, she added.

The IMF has given African countries about $26bn to cushion the impact but even with the help of private lenders and other countries’ assistance there is still a huge shortfall in funding.

“Some countries are confronting high debt burdens forcing them to choose between debt service and additional social and health spending,” the IMF chief said.

As a means to help, she called for an extension of the moratorium by the G20 of debt repayments and wanted more funds to be available to lend.

There have been more than 1.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa and nearly 37,000 people have died.

Africa indeed needs aid…

IMF downgrades forecast for Nigeria’s economic recovery in 2021

$1.2 trillion to aid AFRICA

According to IMF, Africa ‘needs $1.2tn’ to recover coronavirus losses