The Mo Ibrahim Foundation recently released the report "A Year of COVID-19 in Africa: Impacts and Prospects" which highlights the structural vulnerabilities revealed by the pandemic and highlights the importance for the continent to define a model of more autonomous growth. As such, Mo Ibrahim, founder and president of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation gave an interview to 'Financial Afrik'.

The Ibrahim Forum Report 2021 shows in particular that the impact of the pandemic on the African continent has been particularly severe economically and socially, that this crisis has highlighted the structural vulnerabilities of health systems and the model of the continent's economic growth, and that we must therefore seize the opportunity to rebuild on the basis of a renewed model.

" The impact of the pandemic has indeed highlighted the deep underlying crisis in African health systems, due to a crucial lack of political and fiscal commitment on the part of African governments. In addition, young people and women have been hardest hit, and declines in education and employment opportunities are exacerbating existing challenges, at the risk of creating new sources of instability. Finally, the economic shock caused by the pandemic has highlighted the structural fragilities of African economies, which are too often excessively dependent on the outside, both in terms of supply and demand ," explained Mo Ibrahim.

However, he remains convinced that any crisis presents an opportunity for change. " This global crisis is the opportunity or never to build a stronger, more united, more autonomous and more self-sufficient Africa," he said. According to him, Africa can define and focus its efforts on a sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery, provided that it strengthens the continent's integration, puts youth at the heart of the recovery and strengthens good governance.