Africa: A Cautious Opening in Sub-Saharan Africa

[IMF] Washington, DC - The regional outlook has deteriorated sharply since the April 2020 Regional Economic Outlook report release. Sub-Saharan Africa's economy is now expected to contract by 3.2 percent in 2020; double the contraction expected in April. This will contribute to poverty increase this year. The growth rate of new COVID infections has slowed somewhat, allowing some countries to gradually ease their containment measures. However, the scope for the pandemic to spread as aggressively as elsewhere remains a very