African continent suffers $190B in losses due to COVID-19: AfDB

By Adam Abu-bashal

ABUJA, Nigeria (AA) – The COVID-19 pandemic has caused $190 billion in losses to the African economy, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said Thursday.

Akinwumi Adesina was speaking at the AfDB 2021 Annual Meeting held online.

Adesina said the pandemic has forced 30 million people into poverty while noting that an estimated 39 million people could be poor by the end of 2021.

The AfDB had made rapid strides in African economies with the launch of a $3 billion social impact bond on global capital markets, he said.

The bank also announced a $10 billion Crisis Response Facility, Adesina said.

"We have provided $28 million to the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We saved lives and livelihoods."

He also stressed that the continent is recovering, with an average projected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.4% in 2021.

*Writing by Merve Berker