Despite its claims, the United States is not “leading” the global response to COVID-19.  If it were, its approach to the pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the region most vulnerable to the economic impact of the virus, would be much different. Rather than lead, or even join, international partners in assisting...
Today, Afia Asantewaa Asare-Kyei, a human rights lawyer and Program Manager at the Open Society Initiative for West Africa from Ghana, Senegal and South Africa was appointed as Board Member to the newly created Oversight Board.  The Oversight Board will review certain content decisions by Facebook and Instagram and...
Mulls new body to police financial crime, monitor banks European Commission to expand blacklist from 16 to 22 states Saudi Arabia, U.S. territories spared after initial listing Listed states face closer financial scrutiny, funding bans The European Commission aims to intensify its scrutiny of states posing money-laundering risks, and...
Once again, African countries are confronting overwhelming debt burdens. According to the most recent World Bank debt statistics, they owe a total of $493.6 billion in long term debt to their foreign official and commercial creditors. About one third, $117 billion, is in the form of tradeable bonds. In...
US President Donald Trump’s administration is effectively waging war on human health. In addition to imposing tariffs on imported medical equipment and restrictions on exports, the White House has proposed cutting the budget of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 16%, starting in October. Moreover, Trump...
Markets in Africa’s cities are central to the food chain. But many had to close because of COVID-19 measures. In countries across Africa, the public health restrictions imposed to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic have thrown many people out of work. Cities face the risk of widespread hunger, with the...
The onset of a coronavirus-induced global recession has affected both labour markets and financial flows across the world. At the confluence of these two are remittances, which have increasingly been among the top contributors to GDP in many emerging markets over recent decades. The issue is particularly pertinent for those...
Nigeria’s oil and gas exports are expected to decline by at least $26.5 billion as the novel coronavirus batters international prices and cuts fuel demand, the International Monetary Fund said late last week Wednesday. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil exporter, told the IMF in a letter requesting emergency financial assistance that...
Since South Africa went into lockdown four weeks ago to slow the spread of the coronavirus, hairdresser Nasreen Pillay has had no income. Without a job contract, she cannot apply for government aid either. “If my mother and father-in-law did not help me, I would be going hungry,” Pillay, a...
The world’s economy is predicted to suffer a significant decline because of COVID-19. Some hard-hit economies will experience a negative growth rate. We are told Ghana’s growth in GDP, which was projected at 6.8 percent, could fall to 1.5 percent. One may ask if we should be concerned with...