Answer to Question #243796 in Macroeconomics for Azile

Question

Discuss the economic effect of Covid19 on employment, output and inflation in south Africa

Answer 1

It is too early to claim that we have all the information about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Africa. Today the situation on the ground is developing in different ways. There are not only reasons for concern, but also reasons for optimism. Initial projections of the impact of the pandemic on the continent were pessimistic. However, the relatively small number of cases of COVID-19 gives hope that the worst African countries could have been avoided. Although the virus is found in all African countries, most countries have fewer than 1,000 cases. The African Union quickly

responded to the pandemic by endorsing a joint strategy for the continent in February and complementing the efforts of member states and regional economic communities by

creating a platform on health issues.

However, caution should be exercised, since these are only the first days in the life cycle of the disease, which has not yet been fully studied and in the development of which we have noticed

a recurring pattern: at first a slow, and then exponential growth in the number of cases. The small number of cases reported to date may

due to minimal opportunities for testing and reporting cases. WHO has warned that in the first year, the pandemic could kill 83,000 to 190,000 people in 47 African countries, depending on how actively the government begins to combat it; the socio-economic consequences may be felt for several more years.

In addition, as in other regions, the picture of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa is far from uniform. The pandemic affects African countries in different ways, depending on their

strengths and weaknesses. For example, only a third of Africans have the ability to properly wash their hands, and there is less than one doctor per 1,000 inhabitants on the continent. However, some countries also have a wealth of experience in dealing with previous HIV / AIDS and Ebola epidemics, involving community engagement, risk communication, and adaptation of local and innovative practices to developing African approaches to control the spread of the disease. The African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is strengthening the region's capacity by creating a diagnostic base, contributing to the evidence-based response to the pandemic, and supporting governments' efforts to mobilize resources so that the health system can fight back.