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Showing all Blog Posts in Covid 19
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Blog post
Adopt an Enhanced Revenue Mobilisation System to increase IGFs
The economic disruptions of COVID-19 have put local government revenue in Ghana in a dire state. James Dzansi, IGC Country Economist in Ghana, argues that local governments must urgently adopt the digital Enhanced Revenue Management System to increase their capacities to deliver essential services to their citizens. The local governments must stand up to the challenge....
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Sierra Leone locked down early to contain COVID-19, but at a high price
Sierra Leone locked down early and appears to have COVID-19 under control. But the country has paid a very high economic price, with the vast majority of people missing meals or eating less. Researchers warn that if the virus begins to spread again, these sacrifices may be hard to justify and replicate. In the fight against COVID-19, we are in the same storm but in...
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For the urban poor, trade may be the only lifeline during a pandemic
Trade routes have been significantly disrupted with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As formal firms reel under the consequent demand and supply shock, the urban poor engaging in informal trade with little social protection have been pushed further into the margins, and are struggling simply for survival. The outbreak of the plague in Surat, India in 1994 claimed...
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Devolve more power to cities: they will need it more than ever
Cities with devolved powers can react more quickly to the pandemic. But many don’t have the control they need to respond to shocks. Astrid R.N. Haas and Shahrukh Wani (International Growth Centre) argue that a reluctance by central governments to devolve power is holding them back. COVID-19, like every single pandemic in the last 30 years, started in a city and...
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Why we don’t know the real number of COVID-19 deaths in Africa
The number of COVID-19 deaths is surprisingly low in Africa. Could the 'excess deaths' on the continent be hiding a different reality? According to the African Centre for Disease Control, the total confirmed COVID-19 deaths for Africa has now reached over 41,200 – a staggeringly low number compared to the total deaths in other regions. Experts agree, however, that the...
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COVID-19 and informality in sub-Saharan Africa: Containing an economic crisis
Containment measures prevent informal workers from sustaining an income. Policies that support the informal sector are required to prevent an economic crisis. Informal employment involves working arrangements that are not subject to the protection of national labour legislation, income taxation, or entitlement to social protection or certain other employment benefits (see...
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Reigniting economic growth after COVID-19 in Uganda
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has come at an enormous cost to both developed and developing countries, and Uganda is no exception to this. Decisive policies to promote household and firm survival alongside longer-term planning for growth will be crucial to Uganda’s recovery. Early this year, the Government of Uganda took decisive action to limit the spread of COVID-19,...
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Invest in energy access for a resilient recovery from COVID-19 in fragile environments
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many inequities, both within countries and across the world. The least developed countries and those affected by fragility and conflict have been particularly hard hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19, experiencing unprecedented declines in commodity prices and remittances and a collapse in earnings at the household, firm, and national...
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Poverty eradication in Mozambique: Progress and challenges amid COVID-19
Poverty has improved over the past 20 years; however, the COVID-19 pandemic jeopardises the gains achieved, pushing people into extreme poverty. Mozambique achieved independence in 1975, but it was only after the end of the civil war in 1992 that it began to experience some economic progress. The number of people living in poverty in 1996-97 was about 12 million,...
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Poverty eradication in India: Successes and shortcomings of social protection
While social protection programmes in India have helped reduce poverty significantly, they are not without their problems. COVID-19 reversed the gains and has plunged millions into further poverty, disrupting the informal economy, and hitting migrant labourers the hardest. Schemes like MGNREGA are being sought out by the government and desperate citizens to tackle...