Already badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and drought, Cape Verde is suffering badly from the effects of the war in Ukraine. As a result, the government declared a social and economic emergency in the archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa on Monday 20 June.
Inflation there reached 8%, according to data last May, while it stood at 1.9% in 2021 at the same time. With purchasing power falling, nine out of 100 Cape Verdeans are at risk of food insecurity, compared to just 2% in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva said during a press conference in Praia.
With the declaration of a social and economic emergency, the government wants to receive more support from the international community in order to be able to continue financing the measures already decided to protect families and companies, he explained.
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25% dependent on tourism before the pandemic
“We have taken several measures since last March to stabilize food and oil product prices and help the most vulnerable families, and the total cost of these measures is 9 billion escudos. [81,6 millions d’euros] by the end of 2022,” he said.
Cape Verde is therefore now undertaking “a strong diplomatic offensive with our partners to mobilize more resources,” he said, encouraging his compatriots to save. The archipelago’s GDP was 25% dependent on tourism before Covid-19.
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