Study Report: Social Economic Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The 8th Extra-Ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 14th May 2020 directed Secretariat to undertake a comprehensive study to assess the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the COMESA region and propose appropriate recommendations to Member States.The Coronavirus Pandemic has taken toll of human life in unprecedented magnitudes across the globe. Although the spread of the virus in Africa was rather sluggish and reported cases comparatively low, the socio-economic impacts have been as devastating as in any other continent. The Member States of COMESA have equally borne the adverse of the pandemic. The direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 have been severe and widely spread as established in this report.The report presents a detailed account of the impacts of COVID-19 across sectors in all Member States. Apart from morbidity and increased health burden on treatment, containment measures employed by governments, have tremendously affected production and global demand and supply of goods and services. Supply chains and trade across borders have been disrupted, the most affected being the movement of essential goods and services. Besides, many businesses across the region closed leading to loss of jobs and livelihoods. Worse still, early evidence indicates that the health and economic impacts of the virus are being borne disproportionately by poor people. If not effectively addressed, the social crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate inequality, exclusion, discrimination and unemployment in the medium and long term.