Dakar — The Institute of Development and Economic Planning (IDEP) is this Thursday hosting a webinar to provide a platform for high level participants to discuss the various challenges African countries are facing and propose possible tailor-made responses to address efficient economic planning in the context of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The webinar, which will take into account how the COVID-19 crisis might change some of the immediate macroeconomic principles for sustainable development in Africa, will comprise a discussion between the different stakeholders involved in financing development on current and future challenges.

The research webinar will propose technical expertise for planning for sustainable development within the current crisis.

Titled Principles of macroeconomic planning: sustainability and health emergencies, the webinar discussion is expected to provide a roadmap for a resource mobilization plan moving forward on the short to mid-term.

Panels and experts will discuss a number of topics including current growth rate/regimes and the need to achieve sustainable and inclusive societies in relation to resilient economies; monetary policies, inflation and lending to the economy: the role of the Central Banks; and fiscal measures and the need to restructure economies in line with social and economic goals.

Participants will also focus on debt sustainability and government financial stability; means of domestic resource mobilization vis-a-vis the economic negative shock for national stakeholders; and the role of trade in supporting economic recovery.

"COVID-19 is a strong wake-up call for us especially when we talk of financing for development. Efficient planning is important as we seek to strengthen member States' capacity to prevent, respond to and mitigate constraints to achieving Agendas 2030 and 2063," said IDEP Director, Ms. Karima Bounemra Ben Soltane.

She said the webinar will seek to answer the question on how Africa can address, from a macroeconomic perspective, the imbalances in the international trade and financial systems, especially in the context of a global health emergency that is deepening social and economic inequalities.

"More than ever, global and regional partnerships will need to take into account slowdowns on global growth, slowdowns strongly impacting on domestic resource mobilization, which is one of the tools for national, regional and global financing for sustainable development," said the IDEP Director.

Principles of macroeconomic planning include national income and outputs; unemployment; inflation/deflation rates and cycles of business fluctuation.

The webinar will be held on 7 May 2020, 10:00 am (Dakar time).