The generational economy and structural transformation in the era of Covid-19 in West Africa was on the agenda of the first meeting of African think-tanks and experts. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA/ West Africa Sub-Regional Office) organized this virtual meeting to analyse the economic prospects of the 15 ECOWAS countries with a view to the post-Covid 19 era. The Government  of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (through the Ministry of Budget and Finance) strongly participated in the success of this event, which also allowed serious reflection on how to capture the demographic dividend.

Under the aegis of the ECA, experts announced the urgency of a Regional Covid-19 Response and Response Plan to mitigate the significant decline in growth points expected this year in all West African countries. For the moment, we can not speak of recession as in several Western countries but the downward trend of growth is recorded by analysts. The sectors of activity most affected include transport, trade, services such as tourism-air transport,...To overcome this situation, it was recommended to strengthen measures related to domestic taxation as well as the promotion of value chains in all productive sectors. Strong recommendations were also made to boost the contribution of ICTs in African economies and the strengthening of social safety nets to further support the most vulnerable social strata, according to Parfait Eloundou Enyegue, associate director at the Cornell University Center in the United States.

The pandemic has unbalanced budget forecasts to lead to an increase in the debt of West African  countries, according to Dr. Siméon Koffi, head of ECOWAS' Research and Development Division. It is with this in mind that the 15 countries of the zone are invited to seriously monitor their level of debt so that it does not impact their GDP.

The specific case of Nigeria, the continent's leading economic power, was reviewed by Olanrewaju Olaniyan of the University of Ibadan. With more than 200 million inhabitants, the country is currently experiencing serious economic repercussions from the pandemic. In this country, according to the study by the University of Ibadan, more than 44% of the working population was unable to work at the height of the Covid crisis against the backdrop of a drastic drop in remittances and an increase in the number of unemployed or simply precarious jobs. Today the statistics are chilling because 40 million Nigerians of working age do not find any occupations. Similarly, 50% of households experienced dry income losses. The federal government, civil society and the private sector have tried to mitigate the effects of the crisis through remittances and food aid as part of strengthening solidarity for greater resilience. The negative impact of Covid-19 on African economies is therefore undeniable even if experts from ECA, UNFPA, WFP, ECOWAS and Cilss are unanimous in recognizing the urgency of promoting effective population policies to achieve the noble objectives of social transformation.

Eminent researchers participated in this virtual meeting aimed at reviving the West African economy. These include Yves Charbit (CEPED), Chris Nikoi and Ollo Sib (Pam), Keffing Dabo (Cilss) and Bacary Dosso head of section at the SRO/WA of the Economic Commission for Africa.