AFRIKA: THE ECONOMIC COST OF CONFLICT

Also on the headlines this week was a report by a research partnership, including the NGOs Oxfam, IANSA and Safeworld, which estimates the economic cost of armed conflict to Africa’s development. It is stated in the report that around $300bn since 1990 has been lost by Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda.

That sum is said to be equivalent to international aid from major donors in the same period. If this money was not lost due to armed conflict, it could solve the problems of HIV and AIDS in Africa, or it could address Africa’s needs in education, clean water and sanitation, and prevent tuberculosis and malaria. The research estimates that Africa loses around $18bn per year due to wars, civil wars, and insurgencies, while on average, armed conflict shrinks an African nation’s economy by 15 per cent.

(Find report here).

Also on the headlines this week was a report by a research partnership, including the NGOs Oxfam, IANSA and Safeworld, which estimates the economic cost of armed conflict to Africa’s development. It is stated in the report that around $300bn since 1990 has been lost by Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda.

That sum is said to be equivalent to international aid from major donors in the same period. If this money was not lost due to armed conflict, it could solve the problems of HIV and AIDS in Africa, or it could address Africa’s needs in education, clean water and sanitation, and prevent tuberculosis and malaria. The research estimates that Africa loses around $18bn per year due to wars, civil wars, and insurgencies, while on average, armed conflict shrinks an African nation’s economy by 15 per cent.

(Find report here).