Economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on East African economies

Abstract

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is currently causing significant adverse impact on the global economy. Governments around the world are implementing various fiscal measures to mitigate the adverse effect and provide relief for businesses and households. Across the Eastern African region, the impacts of COVID-19 are being felt in different ways and the measures taken by the respective governments have differed on the areas of focus and comprehensiveness. In this publication, we provide insights on the expected economic impacts of COVID-19 in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as well as various measures proposed by their governments to mitigate the impact. Due to the fast paced nature of this pandemic and the ensuing government measures and economic impact, we have used available data through 08 May 2020 for the purposes of our analysis in this publication.