Low income earners hardest hit by pandemic 

The financial impact of Coronavirus in sub-Saharan Africa has been one to remember. A recent report highlighting the ripple effects of the global pandemic on the continent shows that 60 per cent of those employed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic have not been able to work as a result of the outbreak, and nearly half of those are unsure if they will have jobs to go back to. The report released by GeoPoll reveals that informal and low-income earners are hit the hardest as unemployment surges in Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa. Sectors such as transport, aviation and tourism have been badly hit as governments took up new approaches meant to reduce the spread of the pandemic. At the same time as countries themselves put COVID-related restrictions in place, the global economic pressures may result in decreased international lending for many of the countries that rely on external funding. Mozambique, for example, has already accepted $309 million in assistance from the International Monetary Fund. When taken cumulatively, these factors could prolong economic downturn in sub-Saharan Africa and result in decreased food security, access to education, and more. According to the study, in the months since the outbreak, it has already wreaked havoc on global economies. It is estimated that almost half the world’s population is at