The Big Public Debt Debate in Ghana: Who is Winning? A Historical Analysis of Ghana’s Public Debt and Fiscal Deficits From 2001-2020

Ghana’s social media and political space have been pre-occupied with the ‘age-old’ debate on public debt and which of the two political parties, namely the NPP and NDC, left the biggest hole in the country’s public finances. Stoking up the debate is a recently published (October 2020) IMF Sub Saharan Africa Regional Economic Outlook report…

|

Pandemic threatens human capital gains of the past decade-New Report

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens hard-won gains in health and education over the past decade, especially in the poorest countries, a new World Bank Group analysis finds. Investments in human capital—the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives—are key to unlocking a child’s potential and to improving economic growth in every country. The…

|

IFC Invests US$5.6bn for private sector development in Africa and the Middle East

More than US$500m to address the COVID-19 pandemic IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, committed US$5.6billion to private sector development in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa in fiscal year 2020, supporting businesses across the two regions to launch, grow, provide jobs and fight impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, IFC…

| |

AfDB Regional Economic Outlook 2020: Harnessing West Africa youth workforce could speed economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 era

The report points to policies needed to improve skills to empower the West African labour force Growth in West Africa, poised to expand by 4.0 percent in 2020, now projected to contract by -2.0 percent in 2020; Demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics increasing, though school enrolment, retention rates poor. West Africa’s burgeoning youth…

|

Use borrowed monies for productive activities – AfDB tells Africa

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged governments across the continent to use monies borrowed from the international community to undertake productive ventures that will pay back, as the pandemic-induced debts are likely to plunge many countries into distress. Ever since the coronavirus disease began hitting economies around the world, several governments, including those from…

How Canada is fighting Covid-19: Ramping up PPE production, the travel ban from the U.S. and Bonnie Henry

Canada is the first country in a CNBC series on how the world is fighting Covid-19. The country has done a good job of increasing PPE production and closing borders. It could have done better with nursing homes and testing in Ontario. CNBC is looking at how countries around the world have tackled Covid-19. By…

WHO warns it could take up to 5 years before the coronavirus pandemic is under control

r. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, told the Financial Times’ Global Boardroom webinar on Wednesday: “I would say in a four to five-year timeframe, we could be looking at controlling this.” To date, more than 4.3 million people have contracted the Covid-19 infection, with 297,465 deaths worldwide, according to data compiled by…

|

How are companies responding to the coronavirus crisis?

The dramatic spread of COVID-19 has disrupted lives, livelihoods, communities and businesses worldwide. Organizations around the world, including the Forum and its partners, are coming together and innovating to minimize the impact on public health and to limit disruptions to economies and supply chains. Here are just some ways Forum partners, corporations and other organizations globally…