Some two dozen African heads of state are attending Tuesday’s summit in Paris, one of the biggest in-person top-level meetings held during the pandemic. International financial leaders attending, included International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva as well as World Bank managing director of operations Axel van Trotsenburg. Africa has so far been less badly hit by the pandemic than other global regions – with a total of 130,000 dead across the continent. However, the economic cost is only too apparent, with the IMF warning in late 2020 that Africa faces a shortfall in the funds needed for future development – a financial gap – of $290bn up to 2023. A moratorium on the servicing of public debt agreed in April last year by the G20 and the Paris Club, a group of creditor countries that tries to find sustainable solutions for debtor nations, was welcomed but will not be enough on its own.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/18/frances-macron-hosts-summit-on-post-covid-19-africa-finance