Jesuits in Africa Laud Latest World Bank-facilitated Fund to “low-income countries”

In the report, the Director of JENA is quoted as saying, “The donor contribution to the IDA, World Bank fund for the poor, is good news for poorer nations as these countries are in great need of financing to support their recovery.”

Fr. Charles Chilufya adds, “The pandemic is now stretching into its third year with no sign of abating in sight. This state of affairs has serious consequences for Sub-Saharan African countries and other low- and lower middle-income countries.”

“In all this, the hardest hit are vulnerable people with lower levels of education, low-skilled workers, vulnerable employment and informal jobs, who are at the highest risk of sliding into extreme poverty,” Fr. Chilufya further says.

The Nairobi-based Jesuit Priest continues, “The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the inequities and injustices that threaten people’s well-being, safety, and lives, and further exacerbated an interconnected set of crises – economic, ecological, political, social – that impact the poor and most vulnerable in Sub-Saharan African.” 

The report underscores the need for subsidies in “Sub-Saharan Africa and other low-income countries” struggling to deal with “the harsh impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, to shore up their economies and build an inclusive future.”

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“The pandemic continues to take a toll on lives in Africa having pushed millions into extreme poverty,” JENA officials note, and add, “The African Development Bank (AfDB) Africa Economic Outlook 2021 reported that an additional 38.7 million more Africans could be driven into extreme poverty resulting in 34.4% of the African population grappling with extreme poverty and hunger by the end of 2021.”

They further note that the “shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic are reversing hard-won gains in poverty eradication over the last few decades in Africa.”

“Most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are struggling with dwindling government revenues; increasing debt vulnerabilities; rising risks to fragility, conflict, instability and looming food crisis,” officials of the Jesuit entity add.

In the report shared with ACI Africa December 21, JENA officials recall their previous appeals alongside “other major international religious groups … “for additional aid to help poorer countries confront the pandemic”.

“Sub-Saharan Africa will not see any relief from these crises unless there is serious effort made to promote recovery and economic and social development via investments in vaccination and human capital (health, education and social protection), in infrastructure for both urban and rural areas (power, digital, transport, and urban), and businesses that create value for all including jobs,” officials of the Jesuit entity say.