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Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has called on African policymakers to embrace bold actions to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 crisis on the continent. Speaking on day one of the two-day 9th African Fiscal Forum taking place virtually, Georgieva said the pandemic is an opportunity to build a vibrant, competitive, and resilient Africa.

The Forum, holding on March 2-3, 2021, is hosted by the IMF and European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union (EU). It aims to raise awareness among ministers of finance, heads of international agencies and development partners about the need for both Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) governments and the international community to roll-out and support BRAVE fiscal policies. (The BRAVE acronym represents bold, revenue-based, anchored in medium-term frameworks, vaccine-compatible, and equitable.)

In a joint statement by Georgieva and the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, issued at the start of the Forum, the two leaders said SSA continues to grapple with an unprecedented health, social and economic crisis. According to them, years of hard-won development gains have been jeopardised by the pandemic.

“Our common goal is to continue to work closely with countries to support ongoing efforts in the fight against this pandemic, including by securing fair and equitable access to safe COVID-19 vaccines for all,” the statement said. “Inadequate and delayed supply of vaccines in SSA will undermine not only regional but global efforts to end the pandemic, with significant negative health, growth and trade spillovers to the rest of the world.”

Since the start of the pandemic, IMF financial assistance to SSA countries has totaled over $17.5 billion, with the EU contributing €6.2 billion to the external response to COVID-19. However, the IMF and EU leaders said financing constraints, debt vulnerabilities and limited fiscal space have prevented – and continue to prevent – many countries from implementing a more robust response. They said 2021 is likely to be another very challenging year for the region, hence the call for bold action.

“While the international community faces a moral and economic imperative to help all countries – especially those less privileged – fight the pandemic and build forward better, African policymakers will play a central role, as the crisis offers the opportunity to shape the recovery by embracing ‘ BRAVE’ fiscal policies,” Georgieva and Urpilainen noted in their joint statement.

They said policymakers in SSA need to be bold in their objectives to build forward a greener, smarter (more digitally connected), and fairer world. The proposed BRAVE framework also calls for policies in SSA to be focused on increasing domestic resources; addressing debt vulnerabilities and resolving them in a sustainable way; providing adequate and timely access to vaccines; and investing in human capital and strengthening social protection systems.

Participants at the Forum are expected to engage with policymakers on the need for fiscal policies and reforms that can support a strong, sustainable and inclusive post-COVID-19 economic recovery in SSA.