The Africa Report published an op-ed by Senior Research Fellow James Thurlow who writes, "It is too soon to assess the full economic impacts that COVID-19 lockdowns will have on developing countries. But early research indicates that many African economies are significantly impacted and that poorer households are struggling." He states that though it is early into the research of the ongoing and evolving crisis, three findings have emerged: developing countries are shouldering substantial economic costs; food supply chains are exposed, despite being largely exempted from lockdowns; and non-poor urban households face the largest income losses, but poverty is rising sharply.
