Abidjan (© 2019 Afriquinfos)- The 20th edition of Africa's Pulse was held on Wednesday 09 October and focused on the question "What is the state of growth of sub-Saharan African economies in 2019?" The World Bank takes the pulse of African economies in West Africa in particular and highlights the difficulties and prospects they face.

This year, Albert Zeufack, the World Bank's Chief Economist for Africa, who was at the helm of Africa's Pulse via videoconference from his office in Abidjan. The interactive exchange shows that African economies have been affected by the global economy. On the question "What is the state of growth of sub-Saharan African economies in 2019? ». In clear response, growth in sub-Saharan Africa continues to slow and fails to take off in 2019. The reasons, according to the 20th edition of Africa's Pulse, it is held back by the persistent uncertainties of the global economy and domestic reforms that are stalling. According to the indicators, overall growth is expected to be 2.6% in 2019, compared to 2.5% the previous year, a performance 0.2 percentage points lower than the April forecast.

To overcome this existential difficulty that undermines the real take-off of Africa in terms of sustainable development, many initiatives are undertaken by the World Bank, in collaboration with the various States. These include initiatives for the empowerment of the poor and women that are critical to progress. To this end, the report devotes two special components to accelerating poverty reduction and promoting women's empowerment. "The inclusion of women is a key element in stimulating growth. African policymakers are faced with a crucial choice: continue current policies or take proactive steps to foster a more inclusive economy, After several years of disappointing growth, reducing women's inequality of opportunity is an obvious way forward. " said Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Vice President for Africa.

However, the Report says, in sub-Saharan Africa, average growth is expected to increase modestly from 2.5% in 2018 to 2.6% in 2019, before accelerating to 3.1% in 2020 and 3.2% in 2021.

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