An accelerated global health and economic effort is needed to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa, African Development Bank (AfDB) president Akinwumi Adesina said in a webinar this week.

While Covid-19 infection rates are relatively low compared with the rest of the world, there is a growing sense of urgency given the acute absence of healthcare infrastructure in Africa.

Stating that “one death is one too many” and that “our collective humanity is at stake,” Adesina urged US and African government officials and corporate executives to forge new and sustainable partnerships that would endure beyond the pandemic.

Adesina highlighted that there was a compelling need to pay attention to underlying global inequalities and the impact on rich and poor countries.

US business association Corporate Council of Africa president and CEO Florie Liser also noted during the webinar that the Covid-19 pandemic threatened to erase Africa’s unprecedented growth and economic gains over the last decade.

The webinar was moderated by Citi Bank senior VP Peter Sullivan, who said the pandemic was unprecedented in terms of its health, social, economic and financial impact. “The crisis has significantly hurt economic activity across multiple sectors, including tourism, transportation and commodities.”

Adesina, meanwhile, highlighted the AfDB’s recent $3-billion Fight Covid-19 bond, the largest ever dollar-denominated social bond. The bond, oversubscribed at $4.6-billion, is listed on the LSE. The AfDB also launched a $10-billion Covid-19 response facility to assist African governments and businesses.

The AfDB’s response package includes $5.5-billion earmarked for African governments, $3.1-billion for countries that fall under the AfDB’s concessionary African Development Fund and $1.4-billion for the private sector.

Adesina added that Africa’s healthcare systems need to more than double spending in the sector. He cites the acute shortage of facilities and pharmaceutical companies on the continent as development and investment opportunities.

While China is home to 7 000 pharmaceutical companies, and India 11 000, Africa by contrast has only 375, even though its population is roughly equal to half of the combined population of both Asian giants, he pointed out.

Adesina urges multilateral institutions to align and step up their collective efforts with regard to Africa’s debt, manage their ratings, and work together with rating agencies.