The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, who chairs the Board of Governors of the IMF and the World Bank, Dr. Ernest Addison, has urged colleague Governors globally to ensure the speedy formulation and implementation of policies to protect the gains made prior to the Coronavirus crisis.
In a virtual address to Governors at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting earlier on Thursday October 15, 2020, Dr. Ernest Addison said the world needs a post COVID-19 recovery plan that is people-centered and fair.
The Coronavirus pandemic, according to the IMF, will see global economic growth drop by negative 4.4 percent, and also reduce global output by 11 trillion by 2021.
Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is however predicted to fall to -3.3 percent in 2020, pushing the region into its first recession in 25 years, while driving up to 40 million people on the continent into extreme poverty this year, erasing at least five years of progress in fighting poverty.
While addressing governors of IMF and World Bank member-countries as part of the annual meeting of the Bretton Woods Institutions, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the two institutions, Dr. Ernest Addison, said any recovery plan that is not people centered, sustainable and fair, would only lead to years of poverty reduction and economic progress being reversed especially for emerging and the poorest economies.
“We are facing the prospect of years of poverty reduction and economic progress being reversed by the pandemic. The shock waves from the COVID-19 crisis could lead to a lost decade for the world’s poorest countries unless they receive urgent help and financial assistance. Fellow Governors, the time to act is now. We need to enact policies that protect recent hard-won human capital gains and prevent long-term damage to the poorer and vulnerable segments of our societies. We also need continued support from the international community to avoid this health crisis becoming a humanitarian crisis.”
“As we move out of firefighting mode, we should think about the type of post-COVID world we want to shape. We need a recovery that is people-centred, sustainable, and fair. The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that a virus knows no borders – we are all in this together, and the global financial safety net is only as strong as its weakest link,” the Governor added.
