Africa’s COVID-19 Response: A Wasted Opportunity

The document finds that most African countries failed to maximize the opportunity for a green recovery following COVID-19, primarily due to a massive financing gap and a lack of mainstreaming climate action into national economic planning. While South Africa and Nigeria adopted recovery plans with green components, others like Senegal, Uganda, and Benin showed little overlap between their pandemic responses and NDCs. The author argues for reforming global development finance, implementing carbon taxes, and creating green sovereign wealth funds to bridge the gap between climate ambitions and available resources.

• There is a substantial financing gap between the climate goals outlined in NDCs and the available resources, with many African countries lacking clear implementation paths and transparent costing methodologies. For the 2021–2030 period, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, and Benin require annual funding equivalent to more than 4% of their GDP to fulfill NDC plans, while South Africa and Tanzania require approximately 2%.
• COVID-19 recovery efforts in the six studied countries varied in their climate alignment. South Africa's Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) and Nigeria's Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) included deliberate green interventions, such as solar home systems in Nigeria and biodiversity economy infrastructure in South Africa. Conversely, Senegal, Uganda, and Benin showed little to no added emphasis on climate change in their recovery strategies.
• African countries rely heavily on external financing to meet their conditional emission reduction targets. For example, Nigeria's expected emission reductions are 47% with external assistance compared to 20% without; South Africa's are 40% with and 25% without; and Senegal's are 30% with and 7% without.
• The Russia-Ukraine conflict and subsequent global monetary policy normalization have negatively impacted Africa's green transition. High energy prices led some countries, like South Africa, to increase coal exports to Europe to fill supply gaps. Simultaneously, rising interest rates in developed economies have increased the cost of capital and attracted capital flows away from developing markets, reducing the viability of green investments.
• Global development finance architecture is viewed as inadequate, evidenced by the fact that only 5% ($33 billion) of the IMF's $650 billion in new Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocations went to Africa. The author recommends rechannelling SDRs through regional development banks and utilizing innovative risk-sharing facilities to attract private green investment.
• The document recommends that African governments adopt carbon taxes to provide domestic climate financing and protect against international mechanisms like the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Additionally, countries exploiting new oil and gas resources, such as Senegal and Tanzania, are encouraged to create green sovereign wealth funds to ensure long-term sustainability.

APA

Matola, J. U. (n.d.). Africa’s COVID-19 Response: A Wasted Opportunity. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/21-SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_21_AfricaCovidWastedOpportunity.pdf

Chicago

Matola, Joseph Upile. Africa’s COVID-19 Response: A Wasted Opportunity. South African Institute of International Affairs, n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/21-SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_21_AfricaCovidWastedOpportunity.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Matola |first1=Joseph Upile |title=Africa’s COVID-19 Response: A Wasted Opportunity |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/21-SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_21_AfricaCovidWastedOpportunity.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{matolandafricas, author = {Matola, Joseph Upile}, title = {{Africa’s COVID-19 Response: A Wasted Opportunity}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/21-SAIIA_CoMPRA_PI_21_AfricaCovidWastedOpportunity.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }