Launch of the October 2019 issue of the Regional Economic Outlook
31 October 2019 at United Nations Conference Centre
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) held a Launch of the 2019 issue of the Regional Economic Outlook (REO) by IMF on 31ST October 2019, at the United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa.
REO report discusses recent economic developments and prospects for countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF 2019 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa focuses on “Navigating Uncertainty”.
The opening remarks during the launch were delivered by Mr. Hopestone Kayiska Chavula OIC of the Macroeconomic Analysis Section of the Macroeconomic and Governance Division (MGD) of ECA and Ms. Catriona Purfield, Deputy Director of the African Department of the IMF, who presented the findings of the REO on North Africa while Papa N’diaye, Chief of IMF’s Regional Studies Division, presented the REO report on Sub-Saharan Africa.
The 2019 REO report indicates that Sub-Saharan Africa’s is to remain at 3.2 % in 2019 but projected to rise to 3.6 % in 2020. The report brings forth that the region faces significant downside risks. The headwinds from global trade uncertainties have impacted growth and resulted in lower exports in the region. Domestic risks such as high debt-to-GDP ratio and social conflicts have had large and persistent macroeconomic effect on the region. The policy recommendations from the report include the need for fiscal consolidation that is growth friendly and that addresses debt vulnerabilities through avoiding wasteful spending and improvement in revenue collection and administration in the region. Furthermore, the report emphasizes the need to attract FDI and encourage the creation of jobs the region.
The launch was attended by several representative of Diplomatic missions in Ethiopia, policy makers and UN Staff from different Agencies.
For more information on 2019 REO , the report is available from
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/REO/SSA/Issues/2019/10/01/sreo1019