Author: Mwangi Gakunga

Malawi, Zambia Records Drop in Trade Flows

Malawi and Zambia recorded reduced trade flows in March and April according to the latest report from the COMESA Statistics on ‘COVID 19 Impacts on Trade’.  These were the first two months in which COVID-19 spread to the countries. This is part of a series of reports providing initial results on tracking trade flows in…
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Measures in COMESA Member States in Response to COVID-19

Consolidated list of measures that COMESA Member States have out in place in response to COVID-19 Measures in COMESA MS in response to Covid -19 Vol 8

COVID-19 Affects Small-Scale Cross Border Trade Programme

The spread of the Coronavirus in the COMESA region which has forced some countries to take measures such as closing borders to contain it has continued to negatively affect the operations of Small-Scale Cross Border Traders whose livelihoods depend on frequently crossing borders buying and selling goods. The restrictions which includes bans on inter-country movement…
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Two COMESA Countries Record Zero COVID-19 Cases for Close to a Month

Seychelles and Eritrea have not recorded a new case of the Coronavirus for more than three weeks and this has been attributed to several factors which includes strong health institutions, early response, proper coordination, tracing, testing and treatment. Mauritius was also in this group but recently recorded two new imported cases. According to an analytical…
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Public Private Partnerships Needed in Fighting Coronavirus

COMESA Countries should consider forming Public Private Partnerships to reduce the burden of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the limited government resources. These partnerships will also help the governments to assist the people most affected such as women in the micro and small-scale trading sector. According to Gender Expert at COMESA Secretariat, Ms.…
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Potential Impact of COVID-19 in the COMESA Health Sector

This paper seeks to analyses the possible impact of COVID-19 on the health sector in the COMESA region. The brief utilizes the four WHO pillars of health delivery which   include, service delivery, health workforce, access to essential equipment and medication and adequate resources. The WHO framework seeks to build the resilience of health systems in…
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How COMESA Can Mitigate Negative Effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on Trade

This article provides an exposition of potential trade effects and mitigation measures of the COVID-19 in  COMESA. The COMESA Free Trade Area (FTA), which was launched in 2000 has experienced a tremendous growth as evidenced by the growth of intra-COMESA trade from US$ 1.5 billion to 10.3 billion dollars in 2018. Today, these efforts and…
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COVID-19 in COMESA Update #15

The COMESA region represents 29.19% (34,606) of the total cases reported in Africa (118,535). While some of the Member States reported a surge in the number of new cases in the earlier stages, these numbers have reduced and in some cases such as Eritrea, Mauritius and Seychelles have reported zero active cases for a while.…
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International Center on Small Hydro Power Donates 5,000 Masks

Lusaka, May 26, 2020: COMESA has received 5, 000 surgical masks worth $4,500 from the International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP). The masks will support small scale cross border traders at selected border posts for COVID-19 prevention. Secretary General Chileshe Kapwepwe received the masks in Lusaka, Tuesday 26 May from Mr. Jerro Zhou of…
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COVID-19: Time to Reboot Intra-COMESA Trade

Lusaka, May 26, 2020: The International Monetary Fund projects that the global economy will contract by 3% in 2020 much worse than during the global financial crisis and grow by 5.8% in 2021, assuming that the pandemic fades in the second half of 2020 and containment measures are lifted. Sub Saharan Africa is projected to…
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