The Covid-19 pandemic crisis and the security situation continue to undermine the Nigerien economy, wiping out years of hard-won gains in poverty reduction.
A number of fiscal policy options are, however, available to help the country enhance public expenditure efficiency and increase its GDP by up to 2%. These are the findings of the World Bank's latest economic and poverty update for Niger published today.
The report titled "Maximizing Public Expenditure Efficiency for Rebuilding Better" analyzes the impact of the health and security crises on Niger's economy. The economy grew by 5.9% in 2019, but slowed to 3.6% in 2020, as a result of the combined impact of these crises. This sharp downturn increased poverty levels and pushed an additional 400,000 people into extreme poverty.
"Nigeriens have been hard hit by the volatile security situation and these long months in the pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of children being kept out of school and deprived of proper health care, which will adversely affect their future," notes Joelle Dehasse, World Bank Country Manager for Niger. "Turning this situation around will require massive and effective investments in human capital over the next few years."
The report notes that these investments must be accompanied by bold structural and sectoral reforms aimed, among other things, at mobilizing more domestic resources, modernizing the administration, including the civil service, and promoting sound, prudent, and transparent government spending.
Continue reading "Investing in key sectors to help Niger recover from Health and Security crises"
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