Johannesburg – The African Development Bank board has approved a R5 billion loan to the government of South Africa, as the country battles one of the largest Covid-19 case loads in the world.
South Africa is the most affected country in Africa, and among the top five in the world in terms of confirmed cases, with 381 798 as of July 22, with 5 368 deaths.
The loan falls under the Bank’s $10bn Covid-19 Response Facility and it will finance South Africa’s Covid-19 Response Support Program, and represents the Bank’s first ever budget support to the country.
This follows a request from the government of South Africa.
The program is meant to protect lives and promote access to essential equipment to prevent infection, such as protective personal equipment, sanitizers and gloves, protect livelihoods by preserving jobs, incomes, food security and access to essential public services and protect firms by supporting enterprises kin both the formal and informal economy to withstand the impact of Covid-19 and prepare for economic recovery.
South Africa’s ability to respond to the coronavirus pandemic has implications for neighbouring countries as well as the continent as a whole, given its position as Africa’s second-largest economy after Nigeria.
