The COVID-19 crisis is set to wipe out nearly 10 years of progress in development. Real per capita GDP in the region is projected to contract by 5.4 percent in 2020. This will bring the per capita GDP almost back to its level in 2010. COVID-19 is set to increase extreme global poverty for the first time in decades, with 26-39 million people thrust into extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa alone.