Jump-starting Africa’s economic recovery in a post-pandemic world: A conversation with African policymakers

Friday October 14, 2022, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. EDT
The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW

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The COVID-19 pandemic hit sub-Saharan Africa at a time when many of its economies were experiencing unprecedented growth. The pandemic has slowed, and in many cases reversed, the socioeconomic gains of countries in the region. Even before the COVID-induced crisis, rapidly rising public debt, poor infrastructure, jobless growth, and high inequality persisted—complicating plans for economic revival. At the same time, the war in Ukraine and global surge in inflation have ripped open the scars of the pandemic in African economies—putting historic pressure on food, fuel, and fertilizer prices.

Still, despite these challenges, sub-Saharan Africa has remained both optimistic and resilient, with ambitious plans for economic recovery. For example, countries like Botswana, Ghana, Uganda, and Zimbabwe have adopted a raft of both monetary and fiscal measures in an effort to curb inflation and provide requisite relief to the most vulnerable.

Against this backdrop, the Brookings Africa Growth Initiative (AGI) will host on October 14 the finance ministers of Botswana and Zimbabwe and the central bank governors of Ghana and Uganda for a conversation on their priorities for economic recovery in a post-pandemic world with multiple global headwinds. These senior policymakers will discuss the unique and shared challenges facing their countries and what they are doing to attain inclusive and successful economic recovery in the region.